


New Davenport

by Sleepy_fan



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Father/Son Incest, M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-09-26 18:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17146736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepy_fan/pseuds/Sleepy_fan
Summary: Connor never expected to find his estranged father, bloody and beaten at the front door of the ranch he called home. How did Haytham find him, and why is he injured?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Antecanis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antecanis/gifts).



Connor had just finished eating dinner - and was washing up what was left, when he heard a knock on his front door. A small frown of surprise left the young man's face as he walked towards it, wondering who could be knocking. His nearest neighbors were over a mile away in either direction - and they almost always called before coming over. The person on his front porch could be a lost traveller, hoping for someone to guide them back onto the freeway... Or rather, the dirt path that would lead them to the road that would eventually lead them back to the freeway that they'd accidentally turned off on.

He opened the front door of his small but comfortable home, eyes widening in shock as Haytham stared back at him, one hand extended towards him, as if the other had been about to knock again. His other hand was wrapped around his stomach, and the older man was hunched forwards slightly, as if he was injured. The other's fine suit looked crumpled and his silver-grey hair was in disarray. There were bags under Haytham's eyes, deep and dark enough that Connor wondered if the other had been able to get much sleep in the past week alone.

"I... Father?" Connor managed out faintly, dark brown eyes widening in shock as he struggled to come up with anything else to say. "Why are you here?"

Haytham opened his mouth, saying "I-" before starting to cough, staggering forwards. The other would have fallen, had Connor not moved swiftly and grabbed his father before he fell more than a few inches forwards. The other cleared his throat and continued "I... I need your help, Connor. If... I need a place to stay. For... For a while at least."

The younger man frowned in confusion - Haytham was a high powered corporate lawyer - he'd worked for Abstergo long before Connor'd been born, and the young man was well aware of the fact that his father had quite a bit of money. "I... Why would you want to stay with me? We... We hardly know one another."

Haytham's shoulders hunched defensively, and the older man looked away from him, body tense in Connor's grip. "I... If you would rather I leave, I would be grateful if you gave me directions to the nearest hotel - or whatever would pass for one in this area."

"I... I didn't say that, father. I just..." Connor frowned, as he felt something... Wet and kind of sticky soaking into the hand that was holding onto his father's left side. The other's body posture was incredibly tense - and from the way he was guarding himself "... Are you injured?"

"Please answer my question with a yes or a no answer, Connor." Haytham responded, his voice clipped and irritated. But his father's shoulders were trembling a little, and the young man noted that Haytham was breathing shallowly and far too quickly than normal.

"Yes, you can stay with me, for as long as you need to, Haytham. I'll set you down on the couch, then close the door." Connor responded, carrying his surprisingly quiet father to the couch, his frown deepening at the fact that the other wasn't protesting being manhandled. His worry spiked dramatically as once he set Haytham down, both palms of his hands were covered with blood. He looked back at his father, moving swiftly back to where the other was - having not gone far enough to close the front door and uncaring at the moment. "Father-Haytham, what happened? Where are you injured? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No hospitals... They'll find me if I go there. All I need is some bandages - and perhaps a clean needle and thread for the worst of it. If you would be so kind as to fetch those things for me, I would be much obliged, Connor." Haytham responded, sounding irritatingly calm and unaffected while possibly bleeding out on his son's couch.

The younger man scowled a little, stomping off to get his first aid kit, coming back and growling "I have plenty of things for dealing with wounds and even burns - but I want to be the one to see what's been done to you this time, supposedly while you were working on something for Abstergo." There was more bitterness in his voice than Connor was expecting, and from the mulish and closed expression on his father's face, it wasn't helping any.

"I assure you Connor, that I am perfectly capable of handling myself. Why you would wish to tend to my injuries, when, as you previously pointed out, we hardly know one another, I don't know. You were the one who left, after all." Haytham growled back, blue-grey eyes flashing in irritation and... Enough mistrust that caused a flash of guilt and hurt to stab and twist their way into Connor's heart.

"... You're still my father, Haytham. I didn't leave because I didn't care for you, rake:ni." The younger man responded, voice much quieter and gentler as he knelt down next to where his father was sitting on the couch, the first-aid kit in his hands. "Please let me help you? I've... I've picked up quite a bit about how to handle different kinds of injuries since I moved out here."

The other stared at him for longer than Connor was entirely comfortable with - especially as he could see the dark patches on his father's navy blue suit slowly becoming larger and darker. But Haytham responded with a surprising amount of gentleness "If... If you really would like to tend to my wounds, I won't stop you, Connor. I am... I am simply used to patching myself up, when something happens."

Instead of commenting about how often Haytham was mysteriously injured for someone who should have a cushy office job in the year and a half that Connor had lived with his father, the younger man simply opened the first aid kit and asked quietly "Are you going to take your shirt off, or would you rather I do it? Your fingers look pretty battered." They were stained with blood and looked like they were swollen - as if someone had stepped on them repeatedly - or smashed them into something.

"It's mostly blood on my fingers. My own blood - before you start asking questions like that Connor." Haytham responded, starting to undo the buttons of his stained and torn dress shirt with a clumsiness that was very knew to the younger man. Connor also noted that Haytham winced every time he closed his fingers around a button, and the other's hands shook with the effort of carefully undoing his buttons. 

As much as Connor wanted to comment about that, the young man was painfully aware of the fact that the other wouldn't take kindly to such words - snapping at him to get away from him, and that he would be able to take care of himself, thank you very much. Offering to help more than what Haytham had already allowed would also be received badly - as his father was being just as waspish and cagey about his injuries now as when Connor'd been a teenager. Which was why he quietly asked "Have you had anything to eat recently? I just finished dinner, and I do have leftovers, if you want some. Or would you like something to drink? I have water, stuff for tea, juice, and some of that enhanced water stuff that has electrolytes in it too."

Haytham looked up from unbuttoning his shirt - the other's fingers faltering clumsily as he did so (which... Wasn't likely to be a good sign). "I'm not sure if I'd be able to keep much more than water and crackers down at the moment... A blanket would be welcome, as I am quite chilled at the moment" The other's forehead was beaded with sweat - despite it being a cool sixty degrees outside. 

"Of course. I'll go get that now." Connor responded, rushing off to his kitchen and coming back with a glass of water and a box of crackers, setting them down next to Haytham. "There are cleaning wipes in the kit - do you want to get your hands clean while I check out your wounds?"

His father nodded shakily, quietly accepting a wipe while the younger man carefully pulled the other's suit jacket and shirt off. Connor bit the inside of one of his cheeks to prevent himself from reacting in shock at what he saw. There were dark, angry purple bruises all over his father's chest and stomach - and there was a small, but deep looking wound on his father's left side that was still bleeding sluggishly. 

The younger man focused on that wound, carefully but firmly looking it over, touching the area around carefully, and startling a little as he saw a flash of something silver in the wound, stilling in shock and taking in a deep breath. He glanced up at Haytham, intent on asking how in the hell his father had gotten shot - when he noticed how... Unfocused his father's blue-grey eyes were. "Rake:ni? Are you awake?" As he spoke, Connor searched for the forceps, grabbing it and making sure it was clean with a little bit of peroxide.

"I... Am fine. I would also you rather not ask any questions as to how I ended up as badly hurt as I am - and unless something... Truly unfortunate happens, I would ask that you not try to insist that I go to a hospital as I.... Would rather avoid the fuss that the people there would make." Haytham responded, looking away from Connor as he took another gulp of water and nibbled on a cracker half-heartedly.

"... Fine. I'm guessing that you won't also speak to the police about getting shot, either." Connor muttered, mostly to himself, holding the gunshot wound in his father's side steady.

"You are entirely correct about that guess - and if you really have no wish to aid me... I suppose I will leave now, rather than put you through such trouble." Haytham huffed, starting to get up again.

"Would you quit that, father? Yes, we parted on bad terms, and yes I... Probably should have tried to contact you, after... After I found a place more suited to what I wanted and needed than... Than NYC, but you were able to find me as soon as you needed something... But You clearly need medical attention, and I'll patch you up. You can stay as long as you need to, in order to heal up. After that is... Is your decision." Connor responded, still frowning unhappily at Haytham's bloody stomach - as glaring up at Haytham would just push the other into trying to leave and... In spite of their fraught and nearly nonexistent relationship with one another, the cranky Englishman was his only living family he had left, and the young man did genuinely want to make a go of trying to get to know one another - or at least getting along with one another. Why it had to happen when it looked as though Haytham had been beaten within an inch of his life and shot, Connor wasn't sure... But perhaps something so drastic had to happen in order to force the two of them to try to get along, rather than content in ignoring one another, while living in completely different states.

"Very well. I will be out of your hair as soon as I am fully healed. They were only able to hit me once, and I was able to dodge enough so that they didn't hit anything vital. Besides the... I was behind partial cover, so it shouldn't have gone more than an inch into my flesh." His father responded, feigning being completely calm and casual about this.

Connor thought he did hear a trace of a tremble in the other's voice though - which did help him from completely losing his cool. There was no way that his father should be this calm about being so badly battered - but perhaps the other was in shock? Then again... Connor was reminded of a handful of times when they had lived together when the other had come home with unexplained injuries - injuries that a lawyer shouldn't have gotten. Haytham had refused to go the the hospital - or even an emergency clinic - to get treated as well."Okay. If you'd stop moving, I'm going to take out the bullet, then clean the wound, alright? I know not to use the peroxide - I've got a bit of saline, and cleaning alcohol. It's going to sting a lot but..."

"Stop dithering Connor or I'll take those from you and do it myself." Haytham snapped, glaring down at the younger man.

The young rancher huffed irritably before doing as his father asked, carefully setting the bloody bullet down out of the way - but also where it wouldn't suddenly vanish or roll under a bit of furniture and get lost for who knew how long. He swiftly cleaned the other's wound, continuing even as Haytham hissed softly through his teeth in pain. Connor also made sure to clean the skin around the other's wound and stitched the entrance up, murmuring quietly "You might need antibiotics for that. If you're running a fever tomorrow or the day after, I get to drive you to the local ED clinic. I'll tell them that you got shot during a hunting accident, or something like that, rather than whatever actually happened to you. They'll believe me."

"Hrmph. Very well. It's doubtful that I would get sick, as both of us heal quickly." Haytham responded grumpily, holding out his now empty glass of water "I would like some more water, if you please. The rest of my injuries are such that they do not need immediate tending to. I doubt that any of them need anything - but I suspect that you will start fussing again if I do not allow you to finish checking me over... And as I am imposing on your hospitality..."

Connor scowled "I do not fuss! And just because we heal faster than most people doesn't mean that we should just rely on that, and not on the expertise of people who actually know what they're doing, medically speaking."

"I... May have misspoken." Haytham responded reluctantly, glancing away from him, pulling the blanket closer around him as he continued to nibble on the crackers that Connor'd given him earlier.

The other was worryingly pale - but the young man would watch his father through the night, and if the other took a turn for the worse, he would drive the other as quickly as he could to the closest place - no matter if he had to drag Haytham there kicking and screaming. "Thank you. I'll get you more water." The young man grabbed the other's empty glass and filled it, handing it to the other before going back into the kitchen, pulling down the pitcher that he hardly ever used - double checking to make sure it wasn't dusty and filling it up, walking back to the living room and setting it down on the small coffee table in front of the couch his father was on. "Do you want to stay on the couch tonight? I do have spare bedroom - but I'll need to make the bed up first. It does open up to a futon - and I made sure that I could sleep comfortably on it." Connor was trying to figure out if he was forgetting something. Why he was suddenly feeling as though he'd forgotten something, the young man couldn't guess. He just hoped that it would come to him soon.

"I... I think I shall stay on the couch - though if you do have spare pillows, I would be grateful for them. I'll need to sit up in order to sleep as I... I believe it would be easier for me if I didn't lie down completely in order to sleep." Haytham responded, looking away from the younger man as he spoke.

Connor frowned a little - and with a deep breath, activated that strange second sight that he had, looking at his father, trying not to curse lowly as awful, ugly red marks appeared all over his father's body - a deep, dark red spot on where he'd gotten shot - as well as higher, on what looked like one of Haytham's ribs as well. He shook his head, concentrating again as his sight faded back to normal "... One of your ribs are broken, isn't it?"

Haytham had an unreadable expression on his face, before grumbling "I... I think that one of my ribs is cracked - but I can handle it."

The younger man closed his eyes, taking in a couple of deep, slow breaths in order to help himself calm down before he looked at his father, saying in an even tone "I know that you should have your ribs splinted, to help it heal. We've had the medical attention argument earlier, but I... It looks like someone beat you black and blue with a rolling pin before shooting you in the side. There's only so much damage our bodies can heal at a time - especially since you're not eating enough right now to sustain the... the energy requirements for one thing."

"And how would you know any of that? I know for a fact that you're not a doctor - or a veterinarian." Haytham responded back, an edge to the other's voice.

"I've taken first aid and other such classes. I wanted to be fully self-sufficient out here, and part of that is learning how to take care of yourself, if say... You fall off a ladder and need to bandage yourself up enough to get help..." Connor responded, keeping his voice calm and neutral. "I like it out here. And I like working on the land here. It's peaceful."

Haytham harrumphed before sighing "Very well. Bind my ribs, if you think it will help anything. And if you have some soup, I would like some, please."

The younger man nodded, grabbing the ace bandage from the kit and carefully wrapping the other's ribs after double checking how to do it on his phone, carefully feeling for the fractured rib - binding the sight, as well as wrapping it a little above and a bit below the injured rib, so that it was splinted correctly. "Thank you, Haytham. I've got chicken noodle, and clam chowder."

"Hmm... I've heard of the healing power of the former so... Chicken noodle soup it is." Haytham murmured, a small smile appearing on his face. Connor nodded, going off to get what the other asked.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a long, exhausting night for the young man - who checked his father's vital signs once an hour - as the sites online that he'd found that seemed to be written by medical people told him to - or rather... Did what he could to check to make sure that Haytham was breathing alright - and that the other's pulse wasn't too fast or too slow, while Haytham slept peacefully. His father was usually a very light sleeper - and it was slightly concerning that after the first couple of times, his father hadn't woken up again - then again the other would just mumble under his breath in his sleep before rolling over... So perhaps it wasn't something bad, as the other had gotten better over the night, from what Connor could tell... But rather because Haytham did trust him, and knew that he was safe to rest in this place, and not have to worry about... About whoever had beaten the other within an inch of his life.

The young man yawned, trying and failing to rub some of the sleep out of his eyes as he slowly made his way over to the kitchen - having refilled the pitcher of water next to the glass that his father had been using to drink from, intent on making... Something for breakfast. He first started by making a pot of coffee, the very scent of the rich, earthy drink refreshing enough to prod the young man into pulling out the supplies he needed to make breakfast, the scent of cooking pancakes pleasant as he chopped up some of the fresh fruit that he'd been given by one of his neighbors for helping them fix a fence - so that their cows didn't wander off too far to be easily retrieved.

"I would like some of that coffee, if you wouldn't mind, Connor." Haytham called out, just as Connor finished a stack of four pancakes, leaning against the entrance of the kitchen and looking slightly less pale and miserable than last night. His clothes were still blood-stained (and as the blood was old, the patches of blood were a stiff, dark brown color). "And I... Suppose I wouldn't be opposed to some of whatever you're making for breakfast - if you wouldn't mind."  
The younger man hummed, trying to remember what he'd read last night about the condition that his father was in - but the other did need to eat - both normally and because of how injured he was. It was also why he had over twice the normal amount of sausage cooking (handmade, by one of his neighbors further out of the tiny town than he was - they'd called for help due to a tree falling on their property after a bad storm several months ago. It was very delicious and one of Connor's favorites). "Alright - I've got some pancakes ready - there's butter in the fridge if you'd want it - I've also made some fruit compote to go on top of it - and the sausage should be ready soon as well."

His father frowned a little and shook his head "I... Just a bit of the fruit and perhaps one of the pancakes, along with a cup of coffee. I generally don't eat much in the mornings, Connor."

The younger man sighed, biting the inside of one of his cheeks as he came up with something more diplomatic to say than the acerbic comment on the tip of his tongue. He finally settled with  
"... Please try to eat at least a couple of bites of sausage as well? It's very good - though if you're feeling nauseous..."

Haytham rolled his eyes at Connor, grumbling "I did slowly drink down a full glass of water, as well as some crackers earlier this morning - just after you woke me up by poking at me. Honestly, You didn't need to fuss over me as much as you clearly did. You're about to fall over from exhaustion. I think I can manage finishing up breakfast."

The younger man glowered (not pouted) up at the other as he responded with "I've been much more exhausted than this, and was able to do tasks more difficult than making breakfast." 

Connor almost said that the other was injured and needed to take it easy, but Connor sincerely doubted that Haytham would take his words very well at all - and they might get into another fight, and the young man knew that he wasn't going to be able to watch his words as well as he had last night - and considering how badly injured Haytham likely still was... The thought of the other running off in whatever car he'd come to the ranch with... It sent a cold chill down his spine, as the young man worried about how badly the other really was. "If you'd like something for the pain - and please don't lie and say you're not hurting - I've got a couple of different over the counter stuff."

Haytham watched him, face unreadable for what felt like an eternity, before responding quietly "... The pain isn't anything I cannot handle - and I suppose you are going to be insistent about finishing breakfast, I suppose it would be remiss of me to try to stop you - particularly as you have been a rather accommodating host."

"I... Erm… Thanks?" Connor responded, unaccountably flustered at the sudden praise from his father - and the fact that the praise also sounded... Genuine, rather than sarcastic. "... If you'd like a change of clothes, my bedroom's the far door on the left, down the hall. You can pick out whatever you like, and there's a bathroom attached, if you... Want to wash up." The young man also noticed that there was stubble on his father's cheeks and chin - which was rather odd, as from what he remembered, Haytham was always completely clean shaven.

"I... Thank you. I was... Coming here was a... Spontaneous decision, and I did not pack anything, before coming here." Haytham responded awkwardly. The other watched him for a couple of utterly silent moments (save for the quiet sounds of the sausages cooking) before leaving the kitchen.

Connor focused on finishing cooking breakfast - making a couple more pancakes for Haytham - understanding that the other might not want to eat a lot in one sitting - but also hoping that the fact that he did have a couple of things to eat at his own pace would coax the other into having more than black coffee for breakfast. Connor prepared his own cup of coffee before going to the living room, carrying the food out, setting everything out and smiling quietly to himself at the fact that there were two plates to set. While living on the ranch was very freeing - he did what he wanted, when he wanted... It could get a little... Lonely at times, and though he was friendly enough with his neighbors - they didn't live in close proximity to one another.

The landline he kept (as cell phone coverage was spotty at best in this area - and the telephone line had come with the property) rang unexpectedly, causing the exhausted young man to jump a little in surprise, as he made his way over to the phone. "Yes, who is it?"

"Connor! We were all worried about you, when you didn't show up to the town hall meeting - you had said that you were coming earlier." Prudence murmured, sounding genuinely concerned.  
He sighed, groaning a little as he resisted the temptation to fidget with the coiled phone cord with his empty hand. "That's right... There was a town hall meeting last night - about what we were going to decide about the Old Miller Bridge, wasn't there?" It was a big deal - the bridge was in dire need of being repaired - and was one of two ways to get back to the road that lead to the main highway without having to take a fifty mile detour. But it would be an expensive fix - and the state wouldn't be able to offer them much assistance, as there weren't more than a thousand people in the tiny village - and the ranches spread out further in the general area.

"That's right... And it's a deadlock - those in favor of fixing the bridge and those against have a roughly equal number of votes... There are a few people who are on the fence but..." The other responded, concern in her voice.

"But with the same families on both sides of the divide hashing out the same old arguments over and over again, no one's really going to move. I'm sorry for missing the town hall, Mrs. Prudence - but something... Unexpected came up, and I completely forgot about... Everything else I might have had planned to do yesterday evening." Connor apologized quietly, trying and failing to stifle a huge, shuddering yawn (though he did angle the phone away from his mouth, in the hopes that she wouldn't hear it.

"... Are you alright, Connor? Did one of your mares go into labor early? Do you need a hand with something? I can be there in less than an hour, if you do." The more experienced rancher asked, genuinely concerned. She and Warren were the pair who had given Connor his start in this life - teaching him the tricks of the trade, and helping him build up the funds that he needed to purchase the small parcel of land that he currently owned.

"I... No, the horses are fine. It's nothing to do with the ranch. It's just..." Connor paused, uncertain as to whether or not he should tell her that his father had appeared, half dead, on his doorstep... Or that the other had appeared at all. The young man hadn't told anyone much of anything about his past - and he knew that more than a few of them were suspicious of the out of town stranger, who had been living among them for the past few years - and who didn't like to talk about his past. Some of the more... Vicious rumors occasionally had gone around after a bolt of lightning had struck a tree (honestly, it wasn't even that *big* of a tree) in the middle of town during a mid-afternoon thunderstorm and it had nearly fallen on several kids who had rushed out to play in the mud puddles, before their parents could try to stop them... Connor had spotted the falling tree, and had stopped it from falling, before it could crush the kids. He'd held it, until the local carpenters had arrived with the proper equipment to deal with the slightly smoking, now very dead tree.

There had been an... Awkward few months after that- but as Connor only went into town once every few weeks, it hadn't been difficult to figure out when he could get the supplies that he needed at times when there were few people around - but at the same time the stores were still open. It had been an... Adjustment for Connor, who had grown up living in very large cities, where you could get pretty much anything you wanted at any time of the day or night, to a place where the stores closed at six every day - and were closed on Sundays and every holiday.

"Just... What, Connor? Are you alright?" Prudence asked.

Several cheerful voices called out near her "Hey, are you talking to Connor?" Myriam and... Ellen? along with a couple of other people whom Connor couldn't quite identify spoke up at roughly the same time, their voices overlapping and causing the young man to wince, as his hearing was quite sensitive.

The young man was smiling a little as heard bits and pieces of their conversation, cheered up by hearing their familiar and happy voices. After the shock of last night, a bit of normalcy was very grounding. "Yeah, I'm on the phone." Connor murmured, a warm smile appearing on his face.

"Hey! Justin and Davey were on patrol last night - and apparently someone went driving through town in this really fancy blue car - they swear that they saw that it was like... A Mercedes or something really fancy like that. Whoever it was didn't speed through the center of town - but Davey said that they were weaving pretty badly. They couldn't catch up to them before they vanished into one of the backroads. They're wondering if we're going to have to go searching for a drunk driver in a ditch or up a tree today." Sarah remarked - having apparently taken the phone from Prudence.

A soft groan left Connor's lips and he covered his face with his free hand, quite certain he knew precisely who the fancy blue car belonged to, but didn't want to say anything, before he confirmed if his suspicions were correct - as his father's sudden appearance in his life and the car could be a coincidence... But the young man kind of doubted that. "Oh. That's... I don't know what to say about that, miss Davenport."

Sarah sighed, asking "Why do you insist on calling me that? I mean yeah my dad's the mayor of the town, but it's not like that means much. Besides we're all perfectly friendly around here." He could hear a bit of a sulk in her voice - which rarely meant anything good.

Connor cast about internally for a way to tactfully to not tell her that he was more formal with her than most because he was more than a little uncomfortable with the way that she occasionally flirted with him when she was trying to get her long-term boyfriend to be jealous and to pay her more attention. At least, that was the main reason that he could come up with as to why she would flirt with him the way she had - and though his father had scolded him more than a couple of times when he'd been a hotheaded teenager about tact, as sleep deprived as he was, Connor was painfully aware that saying something like that would be far too blunt - and maybe a bit conceited, as he didn't have confirmation for certain that was why she did that. Or perhaps she was just being friendly and he was being strange. "M' very tired, Miss Davenport, and I tend to fall back on being formal, when tired. All of you should know this by now."

"Oh, why are you so tired, if you didn't show up to the town hall meeting. And what were you doing instead of that? Another's scheduled a month from now, same time though." Sarah responded, a hint of irritation in her voice.

Connor was struggling to figure out just what to say, when he heard his father's voice speak - as the other lightly tugged the phone from his grip, blue-grey eyes shining with mischief "I'm afraid that Connor's absence at the meeting he was supposed to be at was entirely my fault, miss. My sudden appearance upended his entire schedule - though I would like to apologize - both to you and Connor of course, for ruining any plans that had been made."

The young man nearly leapt out of his skin in surprise - startled at the fact that his father had managed to sneak up on him so easily, growling "Haytham, please don't sneak up on me like that!"

The look on his father's face was utterly unrepentant mischief - which was both frustrating and good to see - as it meant that the other was quite probably feeling a lot better than when the other had come staggering and bleeding through his front door so unexpectedly. "My apologies, Connor. As wonder as it is to be able to speak with one of Connor's neighbors - the two of us were about to have breakfast, and as it's getting cold, I would like to ask that you please call back at a different time. Thank you and have a good day."

Haytham nearly put the phone down completely, before Connor was able to snatch it back "Err.. Sorry about that. As you can guess, I got an unexpected guest. Talk to you later, Mrs. Prudence and everyone else. Bye!" He set down the phone and glared at Haytham, hissing after a moment "What was that for?"

His father raised an eyebrow at him, as the other made his way back over to the futon, carefully pulling it back up into the shape of a couch. "I could hear the awkwardness in your voice, Connor. Whoever had taken the phone from whoever this Prudence is, flusters you quite a bit - besides, pancakes are best eaten hot - and there's only so much one can do with microwaved pancakes. They just don't have the same quality."

Connor's scowl darkened as he moved back over to the chair near the couch, unhappy that the other was still able to read his emotions so easily. Then again, the other was one of the best corporate lawyers in the states - and quite possibly in the world as well. Reading emotions was something that his father likely did for a living. "... Oh... Did you come here in a blue car?"

"No, I drove in a black pick-up truck. I... Wanted to drive here in something that those who were... Well, that it would be highly unlikely that I would normally pick to drive around the city." Haytham responded, glancing down at the table of food. "... Enough about how I arrived here, you worked quite diligently on breakfast, and it was something pleasant to fully wake up to - and I'm curious as to if it tastes as good as it smells."

Connor nodded, taking a couple of pancakes off the stack and covering them in some of the fresh fruit he'd cut - knowing that the other was being obvious about the topic change as he wanted it dropped. Connor would respect the other's implicit request to change topic "... Alright. Breakfast it is. Do you want to watch TV while we eat... Or?"

"Mmm... A bit of TV sounds fine to me - a bit of the morning news if you'd please." His father responded.

Connor nodded, grabbing the remote and switching the TV on, glancing at the other and trying to shove down the sudden burst of... Why was he flustered? At the fact that his father was wearing a pair of his jeans - and a short-sleeved, button-down plaid shirt - and a pair of his work boots. he looked far more casual than Connor remembered Haytham being... Pretty much ever, in the short time that the two of them had lived together. The newscaster talked about... Something (not that Connor was paying much attention, focusing on his food and nothing else).


	3. Chapter 3

Of all the things to happen, Haytham suddenly crashing back into his life was one of the few things that Connor hadn't anticipated. The young man hadn't gotten the impression that the other had really cared enough to come find him again in the brief period of time that the two of them had lived together, while he'd been a teenager... Although Connor could now admit that part of the reason why he was possibly closed off to any overtures that his father might have tried to make, was due to the grief he'd been struggling to cope with, at the death of his grandmother - who had raised him since he was small, as his mother had died in an apartment fire when he was four... 

He might have also been bitter over the fact that Haytham hadn't tried to contact or visit them - though the powerful lawyer had seemed to be just as surprised as he was, when the social worker had brought the ten-sixteen and a half-year old teenager to his father's office at Abstergo's American headquarters in New York. The young man had lived in one of the burrows of New York his whole life, and not once had he seen hide or hair of Haytham, until the other was the only living relative he had left. The social worker was very unwilling to put him into foster care for the year and a half he had left, before he would be considered an adult... And though both his mom and grandmother had left him some money, the courts had decided to force the two of them together.

While Haytham didn't seem to particularly resent the sudden stranger in his life and beautiful studio apartment in one of the better areas of New York City, the other didn't seem to be interested in him very much either... At least not on a personal level. His father had wasted no time in enrolling him at the best preparatory high schools in the state. It was full of pretentious rich kids who had more money than sense... And a handful of scholarship kids who were academically focused and mercilessly teased for their lack of standing. Connor had made friends with a few of the latter group - and even then he'd been tall and broad shouldered - though he'd not been quite as physically built then. After a couple of fights, Haytham had him take self-defense classes - and a very sanctimonious lecture about when was the appropriate time to fight - among other things. The other hadn't even asked why he'd gotten into a fight - and wouldn't listen when he tried to explain why - under the impression that he was trying to get out of whatever punishment that his father had in mind.

"I'll need to check on the horses again. I made sure that they had food and were out of the stable early this morning - while you were asleep, but I... I have thing I need to do around the ranch. I'll be within shouting distance, if you need anything, Haytham." Connor responded, unsure as to what else to do or say, and he was still more than a little irritated that Haytham had cut into his conversation with a couple of neighbors - as they would likely be curious as to who the mysterious person who'd snagged his phone was - and Connor was under the impression that Haytham was in rather a lot of trouble - given the fact that the other had showed up bleeding and beaten on his doorstep.

"Thank you, Connor. I would offer to help, with what little knowledge I have of such things." His father started, trying to get up - but Haytham sat down surprisingly quickly, and the other winced briefly before sending him a small, rueful smile "I... am not sure I would be able to be doing much, as I still seem to be out of sorts."

"You also have a cracked rib, and the stuff I'd have you be doing wouldn't help that - or your gunshot wound - any favors either. I'll be back around noon or so for lunch - anything in particular that you'd like to have?" Connor responded, fidgeting with his hands a little, trying not to frown worriedly at the other - as Haytham had already grumbled at him for being *fussy* last night - though the young man suspected it had more to do with the fact that his father had to ask someone for help, rather than because of something he'd done or not done. "I do have a router for internet - and my laptop's over there if you want to use it. The TV out here does have a few channels - there would be more if I paid for cable, but I prefer to get stuff online - it's much cheaper. I've also got a bunch of books... And some puzzles."

Haytham arched an eyebrow at him, as the small smile turned into an amused smirk "You don't have to try to find something else for me to do. I can find ways to amuse myself, Connor. Although I am grateful for your hospitality. I did bring my laptop and charger from work, and I will be working on that... I would try to get it myself, but... My body is being rather stubborn at the moment."

The young man nodded - although he wasn't entirely sure if he should trust his father to be completely by himself for hours at a time, as he was well aware of how much more prickly Haytham would get when forced to stay at home. His father worked long hours every day - coming home often just before the teenager was headed to bed - and that was when the lawyer wasn't out of town - supposedly working on something for Abstergo - though occasionally Haytham would come back from those work-events badly injured and tight-lipped as to what really had happened... But Haytham had never been this badly injured on them... Or at least, his father hadn't come home that badly injured while Connor was there. "Alright. It's a basic secured network though... Nothing like that fancy internet thingy that you had back... Back when I lived with you."

Haytham hummed softly at that, nodding "Very well, I shall keep that in mind. Although it's not like I keep any of Abstergo's legal secrets on the laptop that I bring with me from work."

Connor nodded again - feeling a little bit like a bobblehead toy - or perhaps it was just that the proverbial rug had been yanked out from under him, and Connor was still reeling from the shock of his father's sudden appearance. He needed to work with the youngest horse he was currently training - a spirited mare who already had a couple of people interested in purchasing her. The young man hadn't decided who he was going to give her too, as the young man wanted to see how they handled her before making his decision - as Connor would refuse to allow the horses he cared for and trained to go to abusive or ignorant would-be horse owners. The first of these potential buyers would be arriving later in the week - something that he should probably need to tell his father - in case whatever trouble Haytham had gotten into was the sort to be able to follow him elsewhere.

~

Haytham had been sleeping when Connor had come in for lunch - but his pulse and temperature were fine, and his breathing was fairly regular for someone who had a cracked rib. He had made a couple of sandwiches for his father, and refilled the other's mostly-empty water pitcher before having something to eat for lunch, before ambling off, trying and failing not to get lost in thought. Part of the young man very much wanted to see if he could get away with scooping his father up and bundling the other into his truck and driving to the doctor's office in town. The dirt road there was long, winding and had potholes - and he knew that Haytham would wake up sometime on the road... And the likelihood of his father reacting favorably to him doing something like that was... Vanishingly low, and the last thing that Connor wanted was...

What did he want? The young man couldn't say. If someone asked him a week ago if he wanted to contact his father in any way, the answer would be a firm no. He and Haytham didn't get along well at all - whether it was because they were too similar, or because they were too different, Connor didn't know. He had... Occasionally missed the Englishman, despite the fact that he had little contact with the other when they had been living together as... There were times - as brief as they were - when the two of them did get along... Or when the other would give him something close to resembling fatherly advice... Like when the lawyer had taught him how to control his temper through meditation - as though the after-school marital arts did help the young man learn how to control his strength and gave him a sense of discipline... It did not help him with his... Rough temper. Years later, Connor could almost perfectly recall Haytham's calm, steady voice, guiding him through those meditative techniques, the rage and bitterness leaving him with every breath, as a sense of serenity came over him.

But Haytham would be leaving as soon as he healed up - the other had said as much last night... And it wasn't as if there was much for a lawyer of Haytham's caliber to do, even in the small village that was several winding miles down a dirt path. Especially not a lawyer with his father's experience and expertise. not that he would want the other to stay in the life that he'd made here - as Connor had... The young man had very successfully separated himself from the high powered, deep, dark shadow of Haytham Kenway - Abstergo's top lawyer and a legal wolf who could and would tear apart any who dared stand against him in or out of court. Besides, Haytham had only come here to heal up after... Who knew what had happened to him, not because the other wanted to see him, anyways... And that didn't bother him in the least. It wasn't as if they really had a warm, familial relationship with one another, anyways.

Connor stopped, blinking hard as Ariel trotted towards him, knickering softly and nudging his chest. "Hey, girl. Don't worry about me, I've just got some dust in my eyes, is all." Ariel chuffed at him, bumping his chest again as the young man started to scratch behind her ears, a warm smile appearing on his face - despite the fact that the thought that Haytham likely wouldn't have ever sought him out, unless he needed something from his son. That was just the sort of person his father was. It had been a difficult and painful realization for Connor, but the young man had done his best to make peace with that.

~

Connor worked with each of the horses he was training until dusk, stretching and yawning a little, pleasantly exhausted and sore from work - Jason his gelding had decided to jump the fence and take off for the hills - but as the young man had been about to unsaddle Ariel, he'd gotten right back on the very fast mare, catching the other horse before he could leave the property. He had forgotten that Haytham was even visiting, and startled briefly at the sight of his father working quietly away on his laptop. It was even more confusing as his father was wearing some of his clothes - but what else would Haytham wear? It wasn't as if the other should wear his bloodstained suit - and Connor knew that the kind of suits that his father wore needed to be cleaned by methods other than washing machine. Haytham looked good in plain, the young man thought absently - and though the other looked good in his usual suits... There was a casual sort of elegance that his father had that was lacking when the other wore suits - or dress shirts and neatly-pressed pants that-

The young man shook himself mentally, glancing away from Haytham deliberately, trying not to frown at the very strange way that his mind had wandered. His father was, objectively speaking, a handsome man. But Connor really shouldn't be thinking such things about his own father… "Hey, nice to see you awake."  
"Hmmm... I was taking a nap, as my laptop decided to update on me." The older man responded "I've made soup from some of the things in your kitchen. I pulled it off of the heater a little while ago, and decided to make rolls as well. They should be done soon."

"I thought I smelled something like bread... Thanks, father." The younger man responded with a small smile, now that he wasn't oddly distracted by his father, able to smell what Haytham had made for dinner. It really did smell good. "So you were able to get around a little during the day?"

"Yes. Not that I can go very far at any one time. I suspect that moving about as I had before breakfast was part of why I was unable to get up afterwards..." His father responded, closing the top of his laptop and looking up at him. "While it's... An interesting surprise to find that I can fit into your clothes, I wouldn't wish to impose upon your hospitality by wearing just your clothes while I am here... I vaguely remember passing by something that might have passed for a village on my way here? Do you know if they have a store that sells clothes?"

"Err... if you saw New Davenport, they do. It's the closest village-town-place where people live and sell things. They won't have stuff that you usually wear... Tailored suits I mean... Well, Ellen's a seamstress, and probably could make a suit the way that you like them - but it would take her a couple of weeks unless she's having a slow month." Connor responded, fidgeting a little. "I don't mind you borrowing my clothes while you're injured."

His father looked at him with a surprising intensity, before a broad smirk appeared on his face - the kind that almost always spelled trouble for him in capital, bolded letters "And how exactly do you know this Ellen?" There was a strangely sly way that the other was asking.

Maybe if Connor was more awake, he would understand - but he'd spent over twenty-four hours awake, most of it spent worrying about his father, despite trying to keep his mind focused on the tasks at hand, while he was working on the ranch - but he wasn't able to. Connor mentally shrugged before honestly telling him "I can't usually find pants - and shirts for that matter - that fit me particularly well, since I'm... fairly tall, at least not without having to go to one of the larger cities, which is... Pretty far, or ordering online and hoping that the person sent to give him the clothes would get there - and that he would be able to actually fit into the clothes. "... I, among others, helped her get away from her shitty, abusive former husband. Her and her kid are doing a lot better now. She and Marie have been dating for the past few months."

"Ah, I see. And have you found anyone who has caught your heart in this... Charming little village of yours, Connor?" Haytham responded, definitely teasing him now. The big jerk. "And while your generosity in sharing clothes is wonderful, you only have so many clothes, and I do hope that you don't wear your clothes dirty as they are currently for several days running."

"Not unless I have to. 'Sides, I've got a potential buyer coming next week, for one of my mares, Ariel. So of course I'll be all fresh and neatly pressed." Connor responded, yawning and drinking the soup directly from the bowl, not even bothering to use a spoon. He was too hungry and too hungry - besides the only other person here was his father. "And if you're insisting on getting clothes from New Davenport... That's fine by me. Though maybe after you heal up enough to not bleed through your bandages when you move around too much."

"I... What do you mean by that?" Haytham responded with an irritated frown.

"There's a brown patch where there hadn't been before on the shirt you're wearing. And it looks wet." Connor responded back, gesturing to the other's borrowed shirt.

His father looked down, frowning a little. He sighed after a couple of moments and murmured "Very well. Do you have any more bandages, or is it just what's in your kit here?"

"I do have more bandages in the main bathroom - give me a minute to go get them." Connor responded. Hopefully the other would be quite a bit better tomorrow, as he didn't really have much medical stuff stocked up... In part because he didn't really need it - given how... How quickly he healed much of the time - and Connor was well aware that his father was the same way. "Do you want to change the bandage, or are you gonna let me do it? How are your ribs feeling?"

"I rewrapped my ribs after I took a nap, and they are feeling better, after they were splinted... And contrary to the impression you are suddenly under, I can take care of myself. I have-" Haytham abruptly stopped talking, looking briefly startled and... Almost anxious. He sighed after a moment, looking at him "I... would be able to bandage myself perfectly fine, though if you would like to see if I managed to rip a stitch doing very little, I would be... Grateful... For your help."

Was... Was Haytham close to death? Suddenly very much awake, Connor rushed back to his father's side, just barely remembering to grab the gauze and cleaning solution that he'd gone into the bathroom to fetch for Haytham in the first place, he stared at the other very carefully, reeling at what the other had said. "I... Thanks, rake:ni. I don't mean to be overbearing..."

Haytham hummed softly, a surprisingly kind expression on his face - blue eyes softer than he'd ever seen them "You're welcome, Connor. And I know that you are a very protective person. You get that from both your mother and I - and you have a stubborn kindness wholly your own, Connor."

Connor, quietly stunned that his father was talking about Ista, carefully approached the other, handing him the supplies, watching the other care for the gunshot wound, quietly checking the other's temperature and pulse. The latter was a little elevated... But then again, the two of them had been having an argument. Still, the question tumbled rom his lips before he could stop himself "A... Are you alright, Haytham?"

"Hnnn? What's with the sudden surprise? I am fine, I promise." His father responded, still looking strangely gentle "Sit next to me, while we finish dinner?"

"Alright..." The younger man responded, making to sure to sit on his father's uninjured side, enjoying quietly talking to the other as they ate.


	4. Chapter 4

Three days passed as quietly as they ever did when Connor was in close proximity to his father... Which involved a lot of minor arguments between the two of them - and despite the fact that Connor had felt like strangling the smugness that his father displayed... The young man had to admit to himself that it was nice to be able to talk with someone face to face more than once a week. After the fourth day of his father's unexpected visit, the other's gunshot wound had healed to the point where - as far as either of them could tell - the other didn't need stitches anymore. The other's wound was still there - but appeared to just be a surface scrape. Most of the bruises that had littered Haytham's chest had faded - some of them vanishing entirely, while others looked like they'd been inflicted over a week ago, if his father healed at a normal rate. The other's fractured rib still needed to be splinted - but Haytham said that it was easier for him to breathe, and that it was less painful…

Connor wasn't sure if he believed the other - but Haytham had been able to move about the house better. Which was why, despite the fact that Connor would rather they wait a full week before going into New Davenport, they were getting into Connor's truck. ".... If the potholes, or the rockiness of the dirt road bother your rib too much, please tell me, so that I know to turn around, father."

Haytham arched an eyebrow at him, responding with an amused - if irritated "You do realize that I did drive all the way to your home by myself, while I had been a great deal more injured."

"Yeah, and you were barely conscious at the time, too. Look, I know that there isn't much for you to do at the ranch - and yes I know that part of it I s because I'm refusing to let you help outside but..." Connor began, stopping himself before he said something that the other might consider being patronizing. Which was hilariously hypocritical, given the sanctimonious advice that Haytham had disdainfully given to him previously - despite flagrantly doing something else in an incredibly irritating show of 'do as I say, not as I do.' But that had been when Connor had been a teenager, and with a bit more life experience, the younger man could... begrudgingly... Acknowledge that he hadn't known what he was getting into. "... If you overdo it, you could cause the healing to delay."

Haytham glared at him for a couple of moments, before letting out - what to most would assume was a soft sigh - but in reality was the other being dramatic before responding with "I know where you are coming from, and I... Am aware that I tend to try to push myself further than I should, particularly when I am injured or ill... But the truth of the matter is that I do need new clothes, and while you and I are a very close match in terms of height and size, I would like some of my own clothes... As generous as it has been for you to allow me to stay with you, and to allow me to wear your clothes... I would like to do something this week - beyond cooking and cleaning up afterwards. I do promise that if it does prove to be too painful for me to endure the road, I will tell you."

"Thank you, father." Connor responded softly as he got into the truck, Haytham getting into the other side. He started up the truck and carefully drove down the washboard and bumpy road, mind wandering as he drove. Connor wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to believe Haytham when he said that - but the other did have a vehicle, and the younger man knew that if he tried to get too pushy with the other, Haytham would vanish. Not that such a thought should bother him in the least. the two of them were very different people... And Connor somehow doubted that they would be getting along as well as they had been, if his father hadn't shown up half dead on his doorstep. Still... Despite how irritating Haytham could be... The young man was glad that the other had come to him, when the other had needed help. He could only hope that whatever trouble that Haytham had gotten into, wouldn't follow him to New Davenport, as this was a very small town - and while they did have their own politics and difficulties…

Connor suspected that Haytham had to work for some sort of spy organization. It was one of the better explanations for all of the scars that his father had... And the occasional night-terrors that the other had suffered from when Connor was a teenager, and the fact that the only way that Haytham didn't wake him up screaming, was if the young man slept in the reclining chair next to the futon that his father slept on.

Haytham preferred the futon over the spare bed as apparently it was more comfortable - though Connor suspected that Haytham would rather have access to an immediate and easily accessible exit, as though the spare bedroom did have a window, Connor's home only had one door in or out of it. The young man struggled not to wonder just what sort of trouble Haytham had gotten into this time - as he was still trying to convince himself that so long as none of it followed him to the ranch he didn't care. He shouldn't care... As he'd left the city, he'd left the high pressure life that his father had lead for very good reasons. Too many people, too little space, and the expectations and opposing wants and machinations over their every move and gesture was entirely too much for the young man.

~

The drive to New Davenport was a quiet affair. Connor had stopped as a herd of deer blocked the road, ambling unconcernedly across the road. The young man had also made sure to quietly observe Haytham out of the corner of his eye - not entirely sure if he could trust that the other would speak up if the bumpy road was bothering his injured rib badly enough for them to stop - as his father was a singularly stubborn person. Connor drove to the small clothing store, parking in the lot on the backside of the store. The two of them walked together into the store...

And were promptly spotted by Jeremy and Clara - who both worked at the store…

Along with Prudence, Sarah, and several other neighbors of his. Connor tensed a little - glancing at Haytham briefly - but his father simply looked at the store, before moving to the formal part of the Men's section. Unsure what else to do, and hoping to avoid curious neighbors - as all of them started towards him, he followed after Haytham, trying and failing not to be very amused at the vaguely unhappy expression on his father's face as the other sorted through what passed as formal wear.

"Polo shirts and simple button downs... And I'm not sure if any of it's going to fit me without adjustments." Haytham sighed, searching through the neatly-hung wrack of shirts.

"I did tell you that finding shirts that fit well was going to be difficult here." Connor reminded quietly "Why do you think I told you, repeatedly, that I didn't mind you borrowing my clothes? The pants are much the same. Though a few of them might fit. What about this one?" He asked, showing the other an off-white button down shirt.

"Hrmph. If there's another in this blue color, I'll try the both of them on... And I think I found a couple of pairs of slacks that might fit as well." His father responded back, huffing a little and staring in dismay at the meager selection of clothes in front of him.

"You know... There are other styles that have more variety here, and I know that you'd fit in them, because I do..." The younger man offered, gesturing towards another section of the men's section. He was valiantly ignoring the fact that his neighbors were all curiously - and rather blatantly - staring at the pair of them, walking closer, probably wanting to talk to the both of them.

Haytham stared back at him, arching an eyebrow at the other, before sighing. "I suppose that you do have a point. I trust that you remember what I prefer to wear... And if there is such a thing, perhaps a more formal style of... Jeans... May fit. And perhaps a few more casual shirt, provide that they aren't in any garish colors, Connor. Where are the changing rooms?"

"Right, right. I'm guessing you're not interested in any of the camo-patterned stuff?" The younger man responded, a small, teasing smile appearing on his face. The horrified expression on Haytham's face was almost comical. "The changing rooms are at the back of the store. Any room that's unlocked you can use."

"Thank you Connor. And if you do try to have me wear anything with camo on it, I will throw it at you for the insult." His father growled, already walking towards the changing rooms - thankfully before Connor's neighbors descended on the pair of them.

"I guessed that - I was just making sure that you didn't want anything camo patterned." Connor responded, unable to keep the shit-eating grin off of his face any longer as he nimbly moved through the clothing store, doing his best to dodge his neighbors and pretend to be entirely oblivious to his presence. It was quite likely a vain hope, as he could see that they were all intensely curious as to who Haytham was. Connor had just gotten through the jeans - trying to figure out what the hell the other meant by 'formal jeans' several pairs in his hands and was trying to figure out which shirts his father would object least to when they caught up with him. Apparently he'd been still for too long - as they had surrounded him, though he could only see two of them out of the corners of his eyes.

Slowly the young man turned around, feigning surprise at all of their faces, and asked mildly "Yes? Do you need access to some of the clothes? Sorry for blocking you, if you've been waiting a while."

"You didn't show up to the town hall meeting - the next morning Pru and I call you, and you hardly talk to us before a Mysterious British Man steals your phone and.... Why is he wearing some of your clothes?!" Sarah demanded, eyes flashing a little, hands on her hips. "Who is he, to have caught your attention so much."

Connor blinked a little, unsure as to what to say. He had the distinct impression that his father was hiding from someone - likely whoever had beaten and shot him. Why else would the other have shown up, bleeding and nearly broken on his doorstep in the middle of the night? And the rather... Proprietary way she was talking and acting was irritating him. "I'm not quite sure what right you think you have to my personal life, Miss Davenport, but your assumptions are... Rather sadly incorrect. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to bring these clothes to Haytham." The young man moved through the space between two of his neighbors, clothes in hand.

Connor made it to the changing room that his father was sulking behind, when Sarah Davenport responded back "My father helped you get the land that you have now! If it wasn't for him, who knows where you should be. I don't know why you play so coy, but you should want me. Almost all the guys our age want me - even the ones who are dating or married here!"

The young man handed the possible clothes purchases over the gap in the changing room door to Haytham, trying to think of a diplomatic way of getting out of this situation without having to bow down and kiss her feet (or anything else). Connor disliked having to deal with her for this exact reason - she and her rival - a fiery red head who was just as spoiled, but somehow the other darling of the small village (possibly having to do with the wealth of both families) and insulting her would cause him issues for months to come. Then again, Darla's sycophants would adore him for it - and thus try to... Urgh. He sighed softly, and said kindly, but very bluntly "I don't find any woman romantically attractive, Miss Davenport. I'm gay." Connor heard his father sigh in what was possibly exasperation, and a quiet, dull thud, that was possibly the other hitting his head against one of the wall.

"Oh... Well I could set you up with my older brother! He's bi and I know that he has a thing for you, Connor." Sarah responded, looking down for a couple of moments before cheering up again.

"Err... Isn't he... Engaged to Asa and Sam, though? And err... We have the same name. It would be... I'm not interested in dating someone who has the same name I do. That would be... Very strange. Besides I'm also uninterested in a polyamorous relationship... And I'm unsure that your brother and his datemates are looking for another partner, either." Connor responded, shaking his head a little.

Davenport sulked a little, decidedly unhappy with what he'd said, sighing a little "I suppose that you're right... It's just that... Darla swears that she was able to steal a kiss from you a month ago and I was just... Wondering if that was true."

"If she's kissed me, it wasn't while I was conscious, and I'd never kiss her willingly. Not that she isn't aesthetically pretty. Both of you are." Connor responded bluntly, trying and failing not to make a small face at the thought of kissing Darla Lee. He heard Haytham make a soft sound in the changing room - it sounded like he was trying not to laugh or... Something.

"That's… A little harsh, isn't it?" Jase asked, wincing a little at how bluntly he was speaking. "Darla can be... Flighty, and likes attention - but there's no call to talk like that, even though you're... Apparently not interested in women. Though you did seem to flirt with... A lot of people."

"I... Excuse me? Who did you think I was flirting with? I've... I haven't knowingly flirted with anyone here." The young man responded calmly. It was easy to try to get defensive - but Connor suspected that if he did, it would likely be read by the others that he had been flirting with others, and was upset that he'd been called out on doing so.

Before anyone else could say something distressing or weird or just plain wrong Haytham came out of the dressing room, wearing the set of Connor's clothes that he'd come in with, several shirts and pants neatly folded and tucked into one of his arms. The older man hummed in obvious amusement, moving close to Connor an wrapping his arms around his chest from the back, lightly resting his chin on one of Connor's shoulders, remarking lightly "Are these some of the neighbors I briefly spoke to a few days ago, Ratonhnhaké:ton? I recognize miss Davenport's voice. I did warn you that being as soft-spoken and outwardly kind as you tend to be would get you into trouble. and here you are beginning to see why. Not only will some try to take advantage of your kindness... Others will mistake a genuine desire to help others just to help them as an attempt to get into someone's good graces in order to curry favor of one kind or another."

The intense staring was getting more than a little awkward, but despite that, Connor was still feeling fairly calm, as his father's steadying presence was... As always... Helpful in keeping him from making a complete ass of himself. Even though he was starting to feel... Strangely warm at how close Haytham was. "But... Even though there are people who will try to take advantage of others, or are inherently suspicious of kindness when it is offered, that doesn't mean that I shouldn't offer such kindness, when I am able to do so, rake:ni."

"Uhm... I believe he called you Haytham, before? But what the hell did you just call Connor and... From what I know of him, and all of you guys, gals and nonbinary pals can agree with me that... Connor doesn't like to be touched. Like at all, unless it's an emergency of some kind." Sarah spoke up, frowning at Haytham, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Haytham. Why she would do something o foolish, Connor had no idea.

"... Connor is my middle name. Ratonhnhaké:ton is my first name. I go by Connor, as there are few people who can correctly pronounce it... And fewer still who take the time to try to learn to say it correctly. Besides, Connor is shorter." Connor responded, rubbing the knuckles of his left hand, with the palm of his right. His hands were aching again.

Haytham caught his hands, holding them firmly, but not tightly, thumbs lightly brushing over the fabric of the back of his fingerless gloves in a soothing gesture that helped allay some of the anxiety running through him. "I know that you dislike it when you're touched by strangers, or by those who don't know you very well, Connor. But you've always seemed to be comfortable when I hug or hold you. Am I incorrect?"

Connor shook his head, leaning into his father's warmth, smiling shyly at the other "You're not wrong. I've... Your touch has always been grounding and comforting, Haytham."

His father nodded, relaxing a little - but enough for Connor to notice it immediately. The other glanced at the group, and spoke to "Jeremy is what your id pin says. Do you work here? I have decided what I would like to purchase, and then Ratonhnhaké:ton and I will be off." With that, Haytham slowly let go of Connor and walked purposefully towards the cashier's station. The younger Kenway trailed after his father, a couple of steps behind. Connor deliberately ignored any attempts for the others to talk to him. He really just wanted to get home and not deal with any more of his neighbors' weirdness right now.

Jeremy checked Haytham's clothes out, and his fingers trembled a little when he took Haytham's credit card, eyes widening in shock as he read the name off of the card. "Do... Do you have ID for this... sir?" He managed out in a squeak.

Haytham raised an eyebrow at the younger man, silently pulling out his driver's license and showing it to Jeremy. The latter nodded, swiping the card and handing it back, asking for a signature on one of the receipts. The two of them left after that.


	5. Chapter 5

Connor was a little confused as to why Jeremy had reacted to learning his father's full name… but Sarah Davenport tended to make him nervous on a good day… Which was why the young man decided not to ask. Jeremy had been fiddling with that strange pin of his. Like half the town wore that strange looking, stylized…. Arrowhead looking pin, and the other half wore a small, flared-ended red cross. There were a few others like him, who didn't wear either pin. Connor had no idea what they meant - other than the fact that the two sides almost never agreed on anything. Like ever. Including how to properly put out a house fire.

Several weeks had passed since the both of them had gone into town. Almost all of the injuries that Haytham had mysteriously acquired had healed completely - except for the fractured rib. But bones healed slowly - even for the both of them. Connor had understood why Haytham had been so reluctant about going to a doctor. Not only was a gunshot wound something that was a mandatory report… It would also be difficult to explain why you were healing so much faster than others.

Darla and a couple of her friends had tried calling his home phone - but the young man recognized their numbers enough to ignore their calls. Haytham had been more amused by his reaction than anything. At least the other wasn't trying to meddle in his life any more than he already had.

His father helped put some around the ranch - things that Connor knew the other could handle with his injuries. And… If Conner was honest with himself, it was really nice to have someone else living with him. Haytham had moved into the spare bedroom, and though the two of them did occasionally argue… It was more playful banter than anything harsh. His father was mainly on his laptop - working from Connor’s small table.

The young man had gone into town twice since Haytham had accompanied him the first to me. Connor had been nearly mobbed by both some of Darla’s… Friends and some of Sarah’s. He had managed to dodge both groups - and they very loudly started arguing with one another as soon as they were spotted by the opposite group. Connor had just gotten back from dodging too-nosy neighbors when he saw a stranger tackle Haytham - who had been sitting on the porch.

The young man flung himself out of the truck and charged Haytham’s attacker. He grabbed the offending person by the back of their hair and yanked hard, grabbing their arms with his free hand. Connor loomed over the person, dark brown eyes flashing with rage and indignation “Why the fuck did you attack my father?!”

The person struggled ineffectually, babbling nonsense at him. They also were oddly familiar, but at the moment the only thing that had Connors main focus was the quiet, pained sound that Haytham just made. “Argh…”

Most of the anger vanished and Connor asked anxiously “Rake:ni, h-how badly did they hurt you?”

“I-I’m… Mostly fine. This… Person had just gotten a lucky hit to my injured rib.” Haytham promised, sounding a little winded and in pain. He stood up, placing a hand on one of Connor’s shoulders, squeezing briefly in reassurance.

Jeremy struggled in his grip again, eyes wide with fear, and hissed “Connor… Do you have any idea who the man you’re protecting, is?”

“I don't know what you are trying to imply, but he's my father, and I don't care about whatever wrongs you think he’s done… Or if he was actually part of whatever you’re mad about. He's my dad and I’m going to help in any way he'll let me.” Connor growled, his grip tightening on Jeremy's wrists.

“Connor, please look at me.” Haytham asked, voice calm and a little stern.

The younger Kenway looked at his father after a couple of moments. “... What? I… I do mean it. I care for you, rake:ni.”

“and I care for you, very much so.” Haytham murmured soothingly, shifting closer to Connor while avoiding the still-struggling Jeremy.

“Connor… Please let me go. I.... I don't... I can tell that despite who he is, you… You are unaware of everything that's going on. If you let me go, I promise that I won't attack you or… Your father while he's on your property. Besides… We've known each other for years… I would hope that you wouldn't think so little of me that… That I would attack someone for no good reason.” Jeremy started to babble.

Haytham arched an eyebrow at the other’s words, looking decidedly unimpressed. “For someone who was doing his best to try and kill me - or perhaps you were attempting to kidnap me after trying to beat me up? You are certainly a great deal more flustered now that you no longer have the advantage of surprise.”

Connor’s scowl darkened considerably at both of them talking, continuing to hold tightly onto Jeremy, and growled “I would normally suggest that we should call the police department and report this, but Jeremy's parents are high ranking members on the local police force.”

“There is also the fact that if you call this in, that it could have quite a lot of impact in a village of this size - and you may be ostracized for speaking out… On the other hand, young Jeremy here has just as much, if not more to lose than you do, Connor, should you try to bring him to justice in a more traditional method.” Haytham pointed out, calm and… Seemingly amused or pleased by the situation at hand.

“Then what would you like to do? You were the one who was attacked unprovoked after all.” Connor asked. He sent another glare Jeremy’s way, addressing him directly “If you don't stop struggling, I might just snap one or both of your wrists. I had liked you a bit before you tried to attack my father - and before you try the whole you are ignorant of the truth schtick again, I will reiterate that I very likely won't care what your reasons for attacking Haytham are.”

“I… hadn't realized just how single-minded you are Connor.” Jeremy managed out, visibly startled. "And... You've never mentioned to me - or as far as I'm aware anyone else about any family you had... Which would suggest that you didn't want much to do with said family. I... We can help you, if you need help. We're your neighbors, and I'd like to remain friends, if possible."

Connor glowered at the other's rather presumptuous words, and if he didn't think that the other wouldn't possibly attack Haytham again the moment he let him go, the young man knew that he would have quite likely have crossed his arms over his chest.. in part to restrain some of the bubbling irritation and surprise as there was an element to the truth to the other's words... But Connor was glad that he'd been able to reconnect with Haytham - and the young man had occasionally toyed with the idea of trying to get into contact with Haytham again - to see if the other was interested in trying to get to know one another, now that the both of them were adults... But the young man had never quite been able to work up the courage - besides there was always an endless number of things to do around the ranch, and by the time he finished... "What you - and perhaps others - assume of my relationships to any family I have are quite possibly unfounded and unfair. Simply because none of you know my full life story and family tree on both sides going back to the founding of the US or something equally ridiculous doesn't mean that you should gossip about me and try to guess about what my past was."

Haytham gently squeezed the hand that was lightly resting on one of Connor's shoulders again, catching his eyes for a moment - and the younger Kenway silently nodded - guessing that the other had figured out what he thought the other should do in order to make up for attacking the older man. "Connor, rather than dragging the young man into town and making a public spectacle of this - I would suggest that you find one of his parents, and ask that they come speak with you here, privately, about a matter that you would like to be able to discuss at a location you feel more comfortable with sharing, rather than at the station. Jeremy and I will wait here, and we will tell whichever of his parents you manage to find and bring here what he did - so that this matter can stay... Private?"

Jeremy swallowed hard, hazel eyes darting around the area as if searching for a way out "I... L-Look. I’m sorry for attacking you, alright? There... There's no r-reason to get my parents involved..."

"Oh, I quite disagree. They should be made aware that their son will try to attack other people who are staying at a relative's pace, simply because they are a stranger to their son. I don't imagine that it would be good for whatever tourism happens in this small town - if anyone from the outside does visit this place intentionally more than once. From the time that I was in town with Connor it was... Rather unpleasant, and I'm rather surprised that you've been wanted to stay in this rather unfriendly and nosy little village, son." Haytham responded, frowning a little and seeming to be genuinely concerned.

"Not all of them are so nosy... Although they can get rather prying because I'm new - that's why they wanted to ask you a bunch of questions too, I suspect." Connor responded with a frown and an irritated sigh. "It's... Largely peaceful, and it's a sleepy little place. The politics are weirdly intense in town, though. What should we do with Jeremy in the meantime? I really hope that you won't try to run, Jeremy. Both Haytham I can track you wherever you go, no matter if you try to disguise yourself. That and I doubt that you'd be able to escape father. He's stronger and faster than I am." Even injured his father was still very athletic - a bit surprisingly so, for someone who supposedly had a desk job. Although Connor wasn't convinced that what Haytham did was just lawyer-work for Abstergo.

Haytham nodded, easily taking the slightly-struggling Jeremy from Connor as the younger man walked back to his truck, blinking a little as he realized that the back was partially filled with groceries. He sighed softly, shaking his head a little, nothing that he grabbed was going to spoil immediately - besides it would be weird to be holding Jeremy for very long at all - and he needed to find one of Jeremy's three parents as soon as possible, to cut down on some of the strangeness of the situation at hand. "If you want to have him sat down in the house - you both might be a bit more comfortable." Connor called out as he started to pull out of the driveway "There's only one way in or out of that house, barring the windows." Haytham nodded, dragging Jeremy into the house.

~

Once Connor was back in town, it took him less than ten minutes to find all three of Jeremy's parents - all three of whom were talking to a tall, dark haired man whose back was turned to the station's front entrance- but the other's build and the sound of his voice was... Incredibly familiar. "And my niece was kind enough to call me, asking if one of my friends was staying in town with a member of his family. Considering what this place is and... Well, the three of you are aware of certain things - it's far too dangerous for him to stay here for long. As it will only be a certain amount of time until they figure out he's here and... If they try to capture him for information or as a hostage..."

"Ah - Mr. Lee - you and I should continue this conversation in a more private setting. Someone else has come into the station." Sheriff Perkins responded, spotting Connor lingering by the door, clearly not wanting this conversation overheard.

Lee whirled around as soon as the other spoke, and Connor took a couple of steps back, dark brown eyes widening in shocked recognition - accidentally bumping into the front door without meaning too. Lee stalked towards him, the manic darkness in the bastard's face that Connor had dealt with on more than one occasion "You. You miserable, ungrateful ghost. You couldn't have stayed permanently *lost* could you? How the hell did you end up at New Davenport of all places? Do you know where Haytham is? I bet you do, you miserable little shit. You've probably been making sure that he wouldn't be able to return in full. Where the fuck is he?"

Pushing down the initial terror and shock of his occasional teenage tormentor, Connor drew himself up to his full height and stalked towards the other, growling "I don't have to explain myself to you - and if father hasn't seen fit to tell you where he is, then why should I tell you, if I was aware of where he is? You've always been trying to lick his boots and kiss his ass, he's not interested in you in the least." It was gratifying to know that he was several inches taller than Lee now. "I came in here to ask if Officer Perkins - one of the three of you? Please come with me, I need to speak to you about something."

"And what, pray tell, would you like to speak to an officer of the law, young Kenway?" A cold, calculating voice that still haunted Connor's nightmares - worse than Lee - though the bastard hadn't... Done anything to him (hadn't hit or strangled him, as Lee had) physically at least.  
Connor hoped that the horror he was feeling wasn't abundantly obvious on his face. The young man closed his eyes, taking in a couple of slow, deep breaths, doing his best to calm himself down enough to face the viper at his back. In a carefully neutral voice, his face set in an equally neutral expression he turned to face "... Good afternoon, Mr. Birch. I simply wished to speak to one of them about a... Small matter involving their son."

Birch looked him over, stepping uncomfortably close to Connor. The latter took a half-step back, going completely still, eyes wide with panic when Birch placed a hand on one of his shoulders - a mockery of a familiar or soothing gesture. The younger man was doing his best to control his breathing - as otherwise he was going to start hyperventilating. "I see. Charles and I are here in this charming little town, looking for your father, Haytham. He had been on his way to a conference when he had been attacked by muggers - and we heard that a vehicle matching the description of the one that he was driving was spotted around here. Now, as far as I know, the two of you haven't had much contact, after you left the city at eighteen but... Perhaps he came to you for help? Charles and I are both very concerned about his health, and want to make sure that he's alright." The bastard was staring him straight in the eye, still touching his shoulder and entirely too close for comfort.

Shit. Fuck. What the hell was he going to do? Panic and revulsion at the slimy bastard's touch were warring inside of him - and he had no idea how in the hell he was going to respond to the other's words. Connor struggled to break eye contact with the other, but the thought of looking away from Birch was completely unpalatable - as the other would likely move even closer to him, in order to force his presence on him more. "I... He's..." Could he trust that Birch and Lee had his father's best interests at heart? his gut instinct screamed no - but his father had been working with Lee for decades - having recruited the other to Abstergo... And he'd been working for Birch for all of his adult life - and hadn't Birch been the one to take his father in, after Edward Kenway had been killed mysteriously? But... Haytham also had... Difficulties that spoke of having a... Difficult childhood - and more than simply having his first paternal killed, while the other was just... Distant. "Please... S-stop touching me, Mr. Birch." His uncooperative body wouldn't move, despite desperately wanting to flee with every fiber of his being.

"Hmmm? That's a little cold, Connor. After all, I am your adoptive grandfather, after all... Then again, you've always been quite shy - unless Haytham was the one to reach out to you." Birch responded with a knowing smirk on his face. The other seemed to be implying something - although what, the young rancher wasn't entirely sure he even wanted to know. "Would you please tell me where Haytham is - as I can tell that you know where he is. I'm worried about his health." The other was really good at acting genuinely concerned, but Connor was well aware that Birch was a lying piece of shit - and from the incredibly high tension in the room, he wasn't the only one who could sense that the other was full of shit.

The young man wavered - because he knew that Haytham would be very unhappy with him if he ever found out that he was rude or impolite to Birch -a and as the slimy bastard gleefully informed Haytham of all of his son's faults that he observed at every opportunity it seemed, Connor knew that he had to choose his words carefully. The young man also suspected that Birch was... That Birch had something to do with the unexplained injuries that his father had come home with while he'd lived with the other - and the awful state Haytham had staggered to his doorstep in weeks ago. "I'm not quite sure why you think that father would come to me. We hardly knew one another at all - he worked a great deal, and I had come to live with him for only a brief period of time. I hope that you do find him, if he wishes to be found, Mr. Birch." 

With that, Connor was able to gather himself up enough to step out of Birch's cold grip, moving through the front doors with a swift, purposeful stride that most certainly wasn't him running away - if he ran Birch and Lee would chase him. He got into his truck and fumbled with his keys, starting the engine and leaving New Davenport - making sure to follow the laws of the road - checking that he wasn't being followed. As soon as he was out of the town limits, he went as fast as he dared on bare dirt roads, frantically fleeing towards home - towards Haytham.


	6. Chapter 6

Connor threw himself out of the truck - leaving it still idling at the front of his home, running as fast as he could inside - freezing at the scene before him, staring in confused disbelief. Sarah, Madison and James are also bound on his couch along with Jeremy, with his father sitting in a chair and looking slightly ruffled and more amused and vaguely exasperated, more than anything else. There was a pile of knives and tasers on his coffee table, and all four of them looked mulish - though all of them except for Jeremy (who just sunk lower into the couch as his bonds could allow) looked incredibly hopeful. Sarah looked like she was about to start talking, but Connor rushed over to Haytham, body vibrating with anxiety "I... H-Haytham... Birch and Lee - Charles Lee - were in town looking for you. They asked me if I knew where you were and I told them that I didn't know where you were because I didn't know if... If you wanted them to find you."

"... That's... A little unusual that Birch would come looking for me - but given that I went missing near this... Charming little town, perhaps it's not as much as I had initially thought." His father responded, voice calm as he reached out for the younger Kenway's hands, taking them gently with both of his own. He frowned a little, realizing something "... Connor, you're shaking. Are you alright? And is there a particular reason why you didn't tell them where I am?"

Connor wavered between trying to pretend he wasn't panicking - but lying to Haytham never went well - and besides, he was shit at hiding anything to his father for more than few hours when he was calm, much less when he was upset. "N-No... I'm not okay. And why would I ever tell either of them where you are, especially when you're hurt? I trust Birch less than the distance I'd be able to throw him, if I ever was able to pick him up without him turning into the fire-breathing, vicious demon he is." Tears were blurring his vision and all the young man wanted to do was to grab Haytham and run as far as he could with the other, in order to keep him safe from Birch and his mysterious, threatening bullshit. Connor was very convinced that Birch had something to do with the awful state that his father had shown up in weeks ago, and he'd fight tooth and nail to keep the other away from Birch. He knew that Haytham was capable of taking care of himself but... Connor couldn't help but worry.

The startled expression on his father's face, hurt more than Connor expected it to. Was the other really surprised that he loved and cared for the other so much? Haytham pulled him in close, a tight, warm hug as the other murmured, voice low and soothing "I hadn't realized that Birch scared you so badly, Connor. But I'm fine - and I will continue to be fine." The other brought one of his hands up to Connor's face, gently wiping treacherous tears from his face. "I assure you that Birch didn't cause any of the bruises or other injuries on me, when I came to you."

Connor took in a deep breath, trying and failing not to sniffle a little as he clung as tightly to Haytham as he dared to do so - feeling selfish and a little foolish. But he was also very deeply suspicious of the way that his father was talking about it. "But... He... He's hurt you in the past, and I... I also know that you... He... And Lee is... Presumptive and-" The younger man babbled, unable to keep some of the observations he had in the past quiet anymore "And... I... I'm pretty sure that he ordered or asked without expecting you to say no to do something that had you get hurt this time, which is just the same."'

Haytham froze up for a couple of moments, genuinely startled at Connor's words, before hugging him tightly again "I... You are..." The other seemed to be struggling to come up with something to say - possibly trying to figure out what sort of gentle lies that he might get Connor to swallow - or uncertain as to how to proceed. "I would rather stay here with you, until I fully heal up. If you would please go back to town, and tell them that you do know where I am, and that I would prefer to stay where I am to heal - and I will give them a written note of confirmation so that they know that you aren't just being stubborn, or suspicious of them - and that I... I will return once I am back to full strength."

The younger man's shoulders tensed a little. That was quite probably one of the better ways to go about this - particularly as he really didn't either one of the slimy bastards anywhere near Haytham - now or ever... But the reminder that Haytham was going to be leaving him fairly soon was painful. "I... If you think that would be best. But they'll probably insist on coming to see you... And I've heard what Birch things about people who take time off for anything - even if they're sick or injured."

Haytham sighed at that, shaking his head after a couple of moments "I... You do have some good points - but since they did travel all the way here searching for me, the least I could do is write them a note, so that they would know that I am alright. Or, after you find them in town again, you could call the landline here, so that I could speak with them through your phones. Your protectiveness is very sweet and touching, but I have been working with both of them for decades, and despite the... Suspicions and concerns you have of them both, they do care for me, I assure you. There is also a good chance that they will ask around town where you live, and there will be some who will tell them, and I'm guessing you'd rather that they either not visit, or that you'd be a bit better prepared for that possibility."

Connor hesitated for a little bit, struggling to figure out what to do... But it seemed as though Haytham was determined to return to Abstergo - and it would be a bad idea to burn bridges with two people that he'd have to continue working with... On the other hand, Connor still was fairly convinced that no good could come of Haytham having contact with Birch and Lee at this point in time. "... They mentioned that they didn't know where you were - which means that... That you didn't want them to find you?"

Something flickered in the back of his father's eyes, and Haytham looked away from Connor, silent for what felt like an eternity (but was likely closer to several minutes) before he responded with a quiet sigh "Neither of them had asked where I was - and... I do know that you don't get along well with either of them, and tend to get... Very protective when I am sick or injured, and guessed that you would react badly to their sudden presence on your doorstep without much warning, if any at all."

"... Okay. I'll go back into town and try to track them down... But they might have already left, to go search with you in other places. Lee was talking to Sheriff Perkins, which was why none of the three of them came with me to come and talk about what Jeremy tried to do to you... I'll try to get them to come talk to you about what the four of them did." Connor murmured, still holding rather tightly to his father, not wanting to leave in the least - but if it would help Haytham... He'd do it.

"Wait... You've known we were tied up on your fucking couch this whole time, and you haven't yet to question why? What the actual hell, Connor. I... Aren't we friends? And who in the fuck do you know the second in command of the American Templar Order? You don't act or talk like a Templar...." Madison spluttered, their eyes widening in anger and confusion.

"That's not the worst part of it! Are you really saying that Reginald fucking Birch is in town with one of his guard dogs..." James murmured, looking and sounding so horrified he was going to faint. "... And you lied to him. To his face. About one of his high ranking people. That's... Impressive. I think I'd rather stay here than get any closer to be Birch, honestly." The other muttered the last sentence, quietly enough so that Connor was fairly sure that he wasn't supposed to hear that.

"I have no idea what you're babbling about, but father doesn't do anything without having good reasons for doing so. And I do recognize some of those knives on the table - they belong to each of you. Which means - the three of you, like Jeremy - tried to attack Haytham. I don't know what a Templar is, and I really could care less right now. I've heard the word - as well as Assassin - you guys hiss them at one another as if they're supposed to be insults, depending on who is wearing what pin. I'm not the only one whose neutral who have heard the words - and we've been comparing notes and trying to figure out what's really going on in this town. Researching those symbols that you all wear." Connor responded, glancing over at Haytham briefly for confirmation.

"You are entirely correct - they did try to attack me - but I was able to overcome the three of them. I checked and took their weapons from them, so that they wouldn't try to attack me again. Sarah managed to cut one of my hands - but it's a light scratch." Haytham responded, showing Connor the back of his left hand - a small bandage placed in the center. "I wasn't hurt, otherwise."

Connor let out a relieved sigh, smiling softly at the other, murmuring quietly. "I'll go back into town. Is there anything that you'd like me to pick up, while I'm there? I'm going to drop off the groceries before I head out, alright?" He slowly got up and let go, the other's affection leaving a lingering warmth and serenity that he would desperately need if he was unlucky enough to find Birch again and be forced to eat his own words. But if it would make life easier for Haytham later, there was a lot Connor would put up with.

Haytham followed him out to the truck and helped him get everything into the kitchen, saying "I'll go now. Talk to you soon. Hopefully no one else tries to attack you. They're usually not this unfriendly - at least as far as I can tell. But then again... There's more going on in this sleepy little down than I really am aware of going on - so perhaps they are like this to more people." Connor really wanted to know what was going on in this small town - and the attack on his father by a few of his neighbors really kicked his confusion - and quiet suspicions - into high gear.

"I don't need anything else, thank you. I'll keep an eye on those four - who I do hope won't try to escape their bonds - while you're out and about. I'll be waiting for the phone call." Haytham responded. Connor nodded and left - driving carefully back into town, in no particular hurry to get there.

~

The young man ambled slowly through the small town, looking around for the two well-dressed assholes that Haytham wanted to talk too - in no particular rush in trying to find them. Connor wanted to talk to one of the Officer Perkins' first - but that would necessitate a trip back to the ranch and Connor wanted to be able to truthfully tell Haytham that he looked for Birch and Lee all over the small town before returning unable to find them. He continued to amble through town, noting that the people who were out and about, were clustered in small groups, close together and they seemed to be talking quietly, but intensely about something. These groups of people had either the red cross pin, or the odd arrowhead pin - but never some of both - in each of the groups. Connor noted that he'd been wandering through the small town for over an hour, and started towards the police station, when the whispering groups all froze around where they were, and stared in a certain direction, as if transfixed in shock by what they were seeing.

Connor sighed softly, turning around, guessing who he was about to see... And the young man was entirely correct in his guess that Lee and Birch were walking together down the middle of main street - several other people spread out around them - and each of those around the two of them were heavily armed, when Connor checked them in his second sight. He sighed softly, not wanting to draw this much attention to himself - especially as he had the distinct feeling that Birch would cause rather a bit of a scene if he approached the other - especially if he talked about Haytham.... Which he promised his father that he would. The young man had just decided that he would quietly shadow the two of them - and their bodyguards - through the city and wait to approach the two of them in a less populated area.

Unfortunately, the decision was very rudely taken out of his hands, as Birch - sharp eyed asshole that he was - glanced in his direction, smirked and walked towards him, calling out cheerfully (and a bit louder than was strictly necessary "Ah, there you are Connor. You vanished on me a little over an hour ago, and I was concerned. Now, I know that you said before that you weren't aware of where Haytham was - but... My sweet, naïve grandson, did you really think that you might be able to hide something like that from me? I know that you get... A little competitive for your father's attention when Charles is around - but I promise that I will make sure that Charles won't be monopolizing your father's attention while he's here. After all, he did come here to visit you."

Connor could hear the sharp, collective gasp of surprise from everyone around him - and from the malicious smirk on Birch's face, the bastard knew that he was getting quite the audience for this. The younger man scowled as he crossed his arms over his chest, knowing that his face was likely betraying the stubborn mood that he was in and not caring to try to school his face and body posture into something more open - or at least more neutral. "... My paternal grandfather was dead long before I was even born. What right do you have to claim to be related to me?" He growled, unable to keep the naked hostility out of his voice. Connor was also glaring defiantly at Birch as he spoke.

A look of exaggerated hurt appeared on Birch's face, and the other lifted a hand to his heart, taking a half-step back and looking as if Connor had just shot him through the heart. Not that the cold asshole had one (if he did, it was probably an ice-cold stone). "You wound me, Connor. I adopted your father after Edward's unfortunate passing. Haytham's father had been a dear friend and business acquaintance of mine... And after his poor mother went insane, I felt it was my duty to step up and care for the boy - and his older sister. I had hoped that your distrust and dislike of me was simply a side-effect of grief and teenage rebellion. I'm sorry to see that you simply do not wish to give me a chance. I would like to ask you one final time, and please... Bear in mind, that I do care for Haytham as much as you do. Perhaps... Not in the same way that you do... But he is as much my family as you are."

"... I know where Haytham is. He's alright - though still healing from the run in with the...  
Mugger a few weeks ago. If you'd like, I can have you talk to him over the phone." Connor ground out, scowling at the smug-faced asshole, each word showing his seething irritation with the miserable man he was being forced to interact with.

"That would be wonderful - although I would prefer that I would be able to see Haytham in person." Birch responded, voice poisoned honey and eyes razor sharp. "His phone was unfortunately destroyed in the altercation. Although if you would please give me the number, I'll call him immediately."

The thought of the manipulative ass having his home phone number was actually one of the nightmares that Connor had... And changing numbers was a hassle and a half. He had a better solution. "I have my cellphone on me, and I can call the number that father will be able to talk to you on, and you can talk to him for a while. I've got to talk to Officer Perkins about something."

"You mentioned that earlier as well... Not the phone thing. Just what is going on at your little place, that you need an officer of the law for? I can tell that you're feeling particularly prickly at the moment, but I promise, I won't tease you, grandson." Birch responded, voice still honeyed poison. "And I suppose if you're not going to budge on letting me see my injured son in person... A phone call will do. Although wouldn't it be easier if you just gave me the number, rather than handing over your cell phone?"

Connor couldn't help the full-body shudder when the asshole called him grandson again. His skin was crawling and the world was starting to spin unpleasantly around him. The horrified, confused staring of what seemed to be half the town wasn't helping him at all. He'd rather eat powdered glass than do either of the things that Birch had suggested... But who knows what the bastard would do with his phone if it left his sight. "... Why do you want to know why I want to talk to one of the officer Perkins'?"

"I know that you left home on a... Difficult note, but both myself and Haytham never stopped caring - or worrying - about you. I'm simply interested and concern in your welfare." Birch responded, still saccharine - though there was a warning edge in the other's voice that caused Connor to shake a little in fear.

"... Jeremy, Miss Davenport, Madison and James tried to... Attack Haytham. I want to talk to Officer Perkins' about it, as he's their son." Connor responded, voice less than a whisper as he stared at the cracked cement at his feet, feeling as though he'd lost something. And lost badly. He knew that the other would know what he said as he was almost entirely sure that Birch could read his lips.


	7. Chapter 7

Birch’s voice was sharp, but quiet “Speak up, Connor. I didn't hear what you just said. I did catch you mumbling about Haytham.”

“I know that you can read lips, Birch. I refuse to be part of whatever mind games that you’re trying to play here.” Connor responded, speaking just a bit louder than he had before. The young man felt cowardly - but he also knew that if he did try to look Birch in the eyes, the bastard would try to push things more dramatically in order to try to get what it was that he wanted. "So do you want to talk to father on the phone? I do have other things than to stand here while you yell in the middle of town to do today."

"I would like to speak with Haytham - but I'm not going to let you change the topic so easily, young man." Birch responded, voice loud enough for the street full of terrified people to listen to what he was saying fairly easily. "The people who attacked your father unprovoked and unnecessarily... Were any of them wearing a silver pin with a stylized teardrop, or arrowhead? And please speak up this time, grandson. I know that you're quite shy, but I can't understand you when you're mumbling."

There seemed to be a collective intake of breath, and Connor could feel the tension in the street press down on all sides. Lying wouldn't serve much of a purpose - but he also had the feeling that if he told the truth... Something awful might happen. Or that Birch would at least that the awful be done, in order to be appeased - and the other might be talked down into doing something slightly less heinous after he was assuaged and ego-boosted by the amount of begging and pleading on others' part. He also had a couple of questions about why the other was asking “Why does that matter? If you were worried about how father was doing, you’d ask if he was alright.”

Birch smirked a little at that, and responded “I know that Haytham is fine, as if he wasn't you wouldn't be nearly as calm… And you would likely be at his side, fussing over every little thing.”

The younger man scowled at that, folding his arms over his chest again, though he still... Wasn't   
looking at Birch directly. Connor wondered if he probably should - as after all, he didn't want Birch to think that he was completely intimidated by the other... As the bastard would likely try to push him into giving more information than he wanted or something like that. Then again, the Englishman preferred to inflict fear and terror in those around him, so perhaps it was a good thing? And when he snuck glances around at the other people in the street - still in tight, small groups, all of them looked as if they'd been petrified on the spot. Why all of them were so terrified of Birch, Connor didn't understand... It wasn't as if Abstergo had much of an economic impact on this small town - at least the international corporation didn't as far as the young man could tell... It was one of the reasons why he had decided to settle near this small town. "... I don't fuss over anyone. I try my best to help them to be comfortable as they are sick or injured, so that they might heal better and faster."

"If that's what you call it... I'm rather surprised that you didn't go into the medical field - for all the times you tried so hard to play nurse with Haytham whenever the other was suffering so much from a minor cold, or had gotten a small papercut..." Birch responded, and the young man could hear the mocking smirk on the other's face. "I would like to speak with Haytham... And as for why it matters as to what sort of pin they were wearing - I've noticed that quite a few of the villagers here wear that pin -and they were decidedly unfriendly towards me... However an equal number are wearing odd little crosses - they were helpful, if a little... Uncertain about my presence. I do hope you haven't been telling ridiculous stories about me, grandson."

"I hadn't told anyone that I knew you." Or Haytham, but the young man didn't want to admit that to Birch - who would no doubt spin some sort of sob story, trying to paint him as an ungrateful brat - and any protests that he made would be forcibly silenced - or his words twisted to make him seem worse. "I... Didn't see there was a reason to speak of it. And if you really want to know, you can ask Haytham. I wasn't sure if they had any pins on them - or if it really matters all that much." Connor quickly dialed his home phone number, looking up at Birch just long enough to hand the cellphone over. "I'm going to talk to officer Perkins' now... One of them."

Birch slowly took the cell phone from him, a darkly amused smirk appearing on his face. "Ah, but you don't have to go all the way to the police station - all three of them are just down the street. As Haytham was the one who was attacked, surely it would be best if he spoke with the officers as well?" The other gestured to their left, and sure enough, all three of them were standing clustered together, blatantly staring at them.

"... Ah. I'll go over there and start to talk to them then..." Connor responded quietly, reluctant.  
"Be a dear and bring one or all three of them over - we might as well get this matter settled - and the decisions made as to what their punishments will be, for trying to attack your father." Birch responded, voice silky smooth. The other had briefly spoke to Haytham on the phone so that the other didn't hang up. Connor knew that the other was speaking to Haytham, as he could ever so faintly hear the other’s voice.

Connor scowled at his feet, walking briskly over to the trio of police officers. Once he got within a normal speaking distance of them, the young man took in a deep breath and said “I wanted to talk to you in private, but the meddling jerk behind me has decided to interfere.” The young man quietly and quickly explained the issue as he knew of it, while the four of them made their way back to Birch.

The insufferable bastard turned partially towards the four of them, flashing his teeth in what was possibly meant to be a smirk or a smile, but was far too predatory. “Thank you for coming over here. I trust that Connor has explained why we both would like to speak with you. Or rather, why one of you needs to speak with Haytham.”

“Yes he has, Mr. Birch.” sheriff Perkins responded, looking and sounding calm. Their hands were clasped tightly behind their back, trembling a little, however. “I would ask that we continue this line of inquiry at the station-or perhaps at Mr. Hill’s ranch, where the person who was allegedly attacked is currently, along with his accused attackers.”

“Ah, but Connor has quite firmly stated that he doesn't want me on or near his property.” Birch countered with another flash of teeth.

“As this alleged altercation had nothing to do with you directly, your presence isn't required, Mr. Birch.” the sheriff responded. Both of their partners stiffened in surprise at their words.

The Englishman’s eyes narrowed dangerously, but after a couple of (what felt like eternities but were actually) moments later, he sighed dramatically and Birch answered, voice poisonously sweet, if faking being hurt “I suppose that you are correct. Both Connor and Haytham are family to me, and I would like to be sure that things are settled judiciously.”

All three police officers bristled a little at Birch's words, likely insulted at the insinuation that they wouldn't be neutral because one of the people involved was their son, Jeremy. Sheriff Perkins' eyes narrowed a little "This matter will be investigated and dealt with in the proper fashion, I assure you."

"I would certainly hope so." Birch responded, a razor-sharp smirk appearing on his face "It would be... Unfortunate if such a matter was just swept under the rug simply because the son of the sheriff was one of those involved in the attack on a defenseless out of towner. Particularly since the mayor's granddaughter was also involved. Achilles Davenport is still the mayor of this little town, is he not, Connor?"

The young man stared at Birch, wondering why the other k new this much about a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere. Logically, he shouldn't really care much about this place at all... But yet - the other seemed to be invested in this place enough to be meddling directly, rather than trying to manipulate things from the shadows and having other people do his dirty work for him. "I... Yes, y-you are correct. Davenport is still mayor of the city. How do you know that?"

"Ah, this charming little slice of Americana has rather a lot more going on beneath the surface than you're aware of, Connor. If you had stayed with Haytham, things here would make a great deal more sense... But you ran and hid to play with horses. Still, there is a tenacious streak within you that, if properly harnessed, will allow you to go so far. There is a great deal that I could help you with - if you would only ask for it." Birch responded, amusement and condescension dripping from his every word.

The younger man twitched a little, teeth gritting a little in irritation and the burning curiosity that plagued him regularly while he interacted with some of this neighbors. Of course he wanted to know why this town was... Very strange at times, and why there were unspoken, but deeply ingrained battle lines between families and people who - by all things that Connor could tell - should be able to get along fairly happily, though their philosophical views tended to differ somewhat... But Connor was unsure if such questions that he had about such things would be very intrusive or nosy... 

And if he asked them questions and they answered them truthfully - it invited them to ask questions of him that he should answer in the same vein of truth... Which was another reason why Connor had decided not to ask questions, but merely observe and try to avoid having to pick sides - and when he had to - that he was sure to pick both sides the same amount, just on different things, in order to maintain the careful neutrality that he held, as Connor suspected that there was something going on in this small town - and Birch's words (along with several people whom Connor had considered friendly acquaintances - and none of them particularly violent) attacking his father - and having lethal weapons on them that... That could have killed his father. "I've noticed that this place is... Strangely quirky - and that some of the politics around here can get... Intense."

Birch looked like he was going to continue talking, but sheriff Perkins spoke up “If you want to allow us to start the investigation into the alleged attack, Mr. Hill, I would ask that you come with me to your place of residence.”

Connor nodded, darting closer to Birch just long enough to grab his cellphone, and rushing back to the relative safety of the police officers. “I am ready to go now.”

The sheriff nodded and the both of them walked away from Birch and his group of minions. Once they were out of sight and hearing range of everyone on main street, the police officer glanced at Connor and said “You've been a bit of an unknown quantity - and your… Your reaction to things tends to be rather difficult to anticipate. I… Can’t imagine what it was like, dealing with him as often as you likely were forced to. Still.. The fact that you’d stand up to him as much as you had is… Both impressive and slightly terrifying.”

“... Thanks, I guess? It felt as if I dealt with Birch far, far more than I ever wanted to… But if you don’t hold your ground, he’s going to walk all over you, taking whatever it is that he wants from you, and make you thank him for it. Although why he would have any sort of sway here, I really don’t understand… Unless he personally owns land in the area?” Connor responded, frowning a little, but feeling better now that he was away from the manipulative asshole.

The sheriff stared at him for an uncomfortably long time, their eyes flashing with complex emotions that the young man couldn’t quite identify. They had almost reached where Connor had parked, when Perkins murmured “You… You really don’t know what this town is, do you? Haytham Kenway’s your father… and Reginald Birch being your grandfather. But now would not be the time to explain such things - and I am grateful that you did try to evade his questions for as long as you had. He will cause a fuss, but I hope that the fallout of this won’t be as bad as it could be.”

Connor shrugged “Birch is a massive asshole - and don’t give me that look. If you’ve ever talked to him for more than about five minutes, it’s blatantly obvious. His cruel and manipulative. He enjoys causing fear and pain in others, delighting in the power he feels he has over them in order to cause more of the same.”

“That’s a… That’s a harsh thing to say about your grandfather, Connor. Even though some of what you say does have elements of the truth to it.” The older person responded, frowning a little.

“He’s not my grandfather, and if I never see him again, it’ll be too soon.” Connor responded, struggling to keep his voice calm as he quickly got into his truck “Are you going to ride with me, or are you going to take your own car to my ranch?”

Sheriff Perkins looked aghast at what he’d just said “Connor - I am much more aware of… What he does, and why he does the things that he does, and while I don’t agree with much of what he does… There’s no reason to say such awful things.”

“We don’t share blood, and whatever his reasons for adopting my father when Haytham was a child certainly had nothing to do with the fact that there wasn’t a responsible adult around to care for him as he should have been. I don’t care what sort of quasi-legal shadow bullshit he’s up to. What I do care about is the awful way he treats and manipulates everyone he ever comes into contact with for his own, gleeful benefit, and damn everyone else.” Connor growled, closing the door to his truck carefully, in order to avoid slamming it and possibly breaking the car door, grateful that he had left the window down. “Birch is… Is one of the reasons why I left New York City in the first place. Why I hadn’t tried to contact my… Contact Haytham after I finally settled here.”

“... I apologize for what I said earlier, Connor. I don’t know the situation hardly at all, and I spoke rashly. We all have issues - and… Family is a bit of a sore spot for me.” Sheriff Perkins responded apologetically.

“I will take one of the squad cars up there - as I may be arresting someone, depending on what I find out happened there.”

Connor nodded in agreement, still unsettled and irritated, though feeling somewhat better “Alright. See you there before too long… And Birch may try to have you followed. He likes to micromanage the shit out of people and isn’t above doing… Anything to get what he wants - including trespassing - although getting actual evidence of him doing something illegal would likely be pretty low… Damned snake-oil lawyer.”

“... I’m not going to touch that last statement with a ten-foot pole.” Sheriff Perkins responded quietly. “I will see you there as soon as I can - within the hour, if all goes well.”

Connor nodded, starting his truck and slowly heading off - only realizing for the first time that his cell phone was still connected to his landline… Which quite probably meant that Haytham heard at least bits and pieces of what he - and others - had been saying this whole time. The young man pushed the button to put Haytham on speaker phone and cleared his throat awkwardly as he headed out of town, double checking his rearview mirror to make sure that he wasn’t being followed by anyone. “Err… Are you still on the line, Haytham?”

“Yes, I am…” His father responded, sounding a bit distant from the phone “I wasn’t sure if the call was finished yet and I… I admit to being a bit worried when I heard you arguing with Birch. I… Hadn’t realized you felt so strongly about… Certain things.”

Connor’s grip on the steering wheel tightened a little, and he struggled to figure out just what to say, managing after a while “I… I’ve always cared for you, Haytham. I was… Despite the circumstances that brought us together the first time, I was… The silver lining that I could see was the fact that I had the chance to get to know you.”

“Finding out about you from the social worker had been… A great shock, compounded by the fact that… I hadn’t known that your mother had died when you were younger, and that your grandmother had adopted you quietly, rather than trying to contact me… That Ziio hadn’t… Hadn’t told me. Had I known I… I would have been in your life sooner, if she would have let me.” Haytham responded after several minutes of slightly staticky silence. “You did come crashing into my life with the force of a hurricane, and I… Will admit that I didn’t initially react as well as I perhaps should have.”

“Mmm… Is that why you’ve been enjoying shaking my life upside down while you’re resting up? Not… Not that I really mind. I do like having you around, Haytham.” Connor responded, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. “If you didn’t hear earlier, I’m headed back - and one of the police officers is going to be dropping by soon - to talk to you and those who attacked you.”

“Thank you for the information, Connor. I look forwards to seeing you home soon.” The older Kenway responded, sounding genuinely affectionate. It was… Really nice.


	8. Chapter 8

Connor walked back into his home, lightly knocking on the front door before he did so - in order to not startle his father, as they'd both had a couple of unpleasant surprises already. "Hey." He called out to Haytham, who was quietly, but swiftly typing away on his laptop. He wanted to ask how the other's rib was doing - if he had gotten injured when the others had attacked him, but the younger man glanced at the four people bound on the couch and decided against asking until they were alone again. It was best not to admit to any weaknesses in front of your enemy. 

That was a lesson that had been drilled into his head very early on. It was just unfortunate that he might have to continue living with these particular enemies... Part of Connor wondered if he was going to have to move. On the one hand, it would be nice to occasionally get visits from Haytham, if the other was ever in the area, doing mysterious bullshit, or if he needed a place to crash while he'd been mugged or something like that... On the other hand, there was only so much time before Birch figured out where exactly he lived - if the bastard didn't know already and... Connor wasn't sure what the other would do with that knowledge, but he wasn't sure it was going to be anything beneficial for anyone but the smug bastard.

"Good afternoon Connor... I heard you speaking a little with Birch... Please tell me that you didn't punch him, at least." Haytham asked, sounding tired and concerned.

"Of course I didn't. If I took a swing at him he probably would have sued me or tried to twist the situation so that he could turn it into blackmail material." The younger Kenway responded quietly. If he had more energy,, that might have been said more defensively but... Dealing with Birch for so long was draining on a level that he'd never encountered before... And it was compounded by the fact that most of the damned town heard their confrontation as well. There was more heat in Connor's voice as he spoke again, glancing at the four on the couch again, irritation and more than a little bit of a feeling of betrayal bubbling in the pit of his stomach as he spoke "Sheriff Perkins will be coming by soon enough to deal with your would-be killers, rake:ni."

Haytham nodded, asking quietly "It's a bit late for lunch, but I was concerned that one of them might figure out a way to get out of their bonds if I made something to eat. Is there anything in particular that you'd like to have?"

"I don't mind making the food, Haytham.... But I just kind of want a sandwich right now. I'm... I'm too wound up right now to eat anything more than that. If you've got something in mind, go for it." Connor responded, shrugging his shoulders a little as he glanced away from those whom he had once considered friends.

"Hey! I'm hungry too! And I'm sure that the others are just as thirsty and hungry." Madison complained suddenly, scowling at both of them "since we're your prisoners, we have the right to be treated humanely. And we weren't going to kill the bastard. We were just sent to kidnap him. Given the fact that he's the-"

"That is quite enough out of you, I would think. Earlier you four were rather amusing in your attempts to try to attack me. Finish that sentence and I will be angry at you, and as Connor can attest, you don't want me to be angry with you." Haytham spoke up, a dark tone of warning in his voice.

Connor narrowed his eyes a little, feeling very frustrated that he was being kept out of the loop about something . But now wasn't the time to broadcast his ignorance about whatever secretive bullshit most of the town apparently seemed to be in on. How and why it connected to his father and Birch was something that the young man was also desperately interested in finding out... Haytham had promised to explain later. "Mmm. It's a bad plan to actually anger father. It never ends well for the poor asshole who did it."

"Connor, I would prefer that you not swear in front of... Guests. Even though they were terribly rude." His father rebuked lightly.

The young man was about to hiss something impulsive and possibly harsh back when he caught the amused, playful smirk on the other's face. Haytham also did a subtle hand gesture, asking him to please play along. Connor wasn't sure what the other had in mind - but if Haytham wanted a bit of revenge on the people who had attacked him earlier today... He was up for it. Besides, it was clear that his father was very much in a mischievous mood, and Connor knew better than to try to hinder or go against the other when feeling that sort of playful. "Sorry, father. Should we give them something to eat or drink? But if we do, we'd have to feed them ourselves, and I'm not sure any of them deserve that sort of service..."

"Or you could untie us. Our hands I mean." Sarah pointed out, trying and failing to sound calm. She mostly looked embarrassed and anxious.

"And I was born yesterday. I may not know everything that's going on here, but if you think I'd untie your hands to give you something to eat or drink, you've got another thing coming. Even if your hands were tied again around your front, it would give you more of a chance to escape than you had before. Not that you'd actually be able to escape either of us. Especially unarmed." Connor responded, a small smirk appearing on his face. It felt like one of his father's, but... That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as he stalked around the couch, leaning against the large, comfortable recliner his father was sitting in and arching an eyebrow at them.

"Now Connor, do give them a little bit of credit... Provided they wouldn't do something foolish like say, trying to lunge for their weapons, rather than undoing their knee and ankle restraints, one of them might possibly make it as far as the porch before we caught the last one." Haytham responded, bright blue eyes glittering with amusement.

The small smirk on his father's face was very attractive, and the young man had to restrain himself from closing the distance between the two of them and press a kiss to the other's lips. "That's true..."

"J-just what do you mean by that? We all competed in the hundred yard potato-sack race, and you weren't even in the top ten." Jeremy questioned, spluttering a little, looking indignant.

"Considering that I hadn't ever been in a potato sack race before, and I was holding back at the time, that's not surprising." Connor answered back, glancing down at his nails. "I'll need to check on the horses soon. They should be fine on feed and water, but today has been full of... Unexpected distractions." It was weird sounding so detached from those whom he'd cared for to varying degrees until they'd tried to apparently kidnap his father.

"I'll make us a couple of sandwiches first. Then perhaps if you have long straws they could get a bit of water? I'm sure that they could stand to wait on both for a little while longer - but they might continue to fuss and complain if we don't give them something, and they might accuse you of being an ungracious host." His father responded, the smirk softening to a smile as he set aside his laptop as he closed it, getting up and heading over to the kitchen.

"... They wanted to kidnap you, father. I don't really care about what they want or think that they deserve, before sheriff Perkins shows up. None of them are dehydrated or are in danger of going dangerously hypoglycemic." Connor responded bluntly, dark brown eyes flashing with anger and irritation. "They can talk all they want, but the moment they tried to hurt you, they lost all the trust and possible help that I might have offered them up until that point. I had considered the four of them friends, but no longer."

"I... That's... Why would you say something like that, Connor!" All four of them spluttered, pretty much at the same time, looking horrified and betrayed by his words.

The younger Kenway stalked towards several former friends, glowering at them "You tried to kidnap my father - unsuccessfully - but you still attempted it. Why the... Why would I forgive you for something like that? Especially since it's blatantly clear to me that you have no remorse whatsoever for doing so - and that if you had the chance to actually be able to do, you would try to kidnap him again, wouldn't you? If I tried to kidnap one of your loved ones, how well would you take it?"

"I would try to find out why you would do something like that, before judging you for doing something like that! I... Connor, please. There's a great deal more happening in this town... Your father isn't who you think he is." Sarah pleaded, sounding miserable "... I will admit that trying to kidnap him was kind of a really dumb idea and not well thought out at all... But please... Your father doesn't want us to talk to you about why - surely that makes you curious?"

"Father has done a lot of mysterious things in his life that I would like to know why he's done them. But that doesn't mean that I'll listen to whatever garbled and slanted version of events that you're probably going to try to feed me in order to try to turn me against him." Connor growled back, folding his arms over his chest. "Save your reasons for sheriff Perkins. Unless you mean to tell me you were blackmailed into kidnapping my father and hadn't really wanted to kidnap him in the first place?"

Haytham reappeared from the kitchen, handing him a sandwich and a glass of water, remarking lightly "I'm very curious as to the answer to that last question... I might be able to help you, if you really were forced to try to kidnap me. There are people and resources I can put each of you into contact with, should you need help to get out of an awful situation. I think that speaking to each of you individually on this topic will be the best course of action - in case only a couple of you were blackmailed into it, and the others wanted to kidnap me - for whatever imagined good you think it would do you. And you'd be able to get something to eat and drink - that you'd make yourself, so that you know that there isn't anything strange in the food or water - not that there would be anything to drug you with in this place."

Haytham's would be attackers stared at the both of them, a deep silence filling them as the two Kenways watched each of them. Connor finished his sandwich and drained the glass of water, murmuring "Good luck, father. If any of them are in a bad way, I hope that they'll open up to you. You're.... You're good at protecting people." Why he felt a bit of a blush appear on his face, the young man wasn't sure.

Haytham's face softened into another real, gentle smile, and the other tugged him in close for a brief hug that stole Connor's breath away. "Thank you, Connor. I just wish I had been able to protect you from certain things better than I had..."

"It's. It's not your fault. You were half a world away w-when..." Connor responded, hugging the other more tightly. He still couldn't speak of it - then again, he could feel the curious stares of some former friends boring holes in his back. "When it happened."

The older Kenway just held him a bit more tightly for a couple of moments before letting him go lightly - arms lightly wrapped around him "Still... I should have realized that something was... Off. I'll speak to each of my would-be kidnappers while you tend to your horses. Perhaps once you're finished that, if the sheriff or one of their officers haven't come, you and I can talk about their responses privately - as you do know them better than I do - and whether or not they are feeding me lies. I am generally fairly good at discerning truth from lies, but as I know nothing about any of them, there are certain things I wouldn't know that they may or may not be telling the truth over, that could be used against them."

Connor nodded, smiling a little at the older man, saying quietly "I'll do what I can to help. See you in a bit, rake:ni." He stepped out of his father's light embrace, heading off - ignoring the sounds of protest that his former friends were making - honestly, the racket that they were all making, it seemed as if they thought that Haytham was going to torture them for information or something equally ridiculous. Not that his father would do something like that.

~

The young man returned back to his home several hours later - having worked with his horses and put them back in the stable as night fell, opening the door and took in the scene before him. Sheriff Perkins and Miss Davenport looked as though they'd been in a conversation and had just stopped - Jeremy was nowhere to be seen (but a quick check with his second sight proved that Jeremy was speaking to Haytham in the spare bedroom) and... "You!" Connor hissed, eyes narrowing to slits as he spotted Lee in his home, talking to Madison and James. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE. NOW!"

"Considering the fact that I am helping Sheriff Perkins, I don't see why you think that trying to order me out of here will do any good whatsoever. You did wish for Haytham's attackers to get justice." Lee responded, sniffing disdainfully at him "And your only objections earlier were for your grandfather not stepping foot on your property, not myself. I also should be here, though for reasons that you wouldn't know, and frankly, I don't have the time to explain at the moment."

"Get. Out. Of. My house. Get out. Of. My. Property. O-or-" Connor growled, slowly stalking towards the other, incandescently furious that this miserable, horrible asshole dared to step foot in his home, this place that was supposed to be safe.

"Or what, Connor? I seem to remember that despite your raw strength, I could handle you quite well in the past." The smug bastard responded, glancing at him before looking away dismissively. "You always did freeze at the slightest touch."

The rancher tensed at that, shaking a little as he was violently reminded of the previous times that Lee had decided to take a notion and handle him. No. He wasn't going to let the other push him around and.. And hurt him anymore. "You will leave my property. Or I will use one of the tasers on you and then drag you off of my property and leave you in the road, to find your way back or, if you're unlucky, to be mauled by the local wildlife. Technically I could shoot you where you stand, as you are trespassing on my property and... And I've told you in no uncertain terms to leave and you are... T-threatening me." 

Connor was incredibly frustrated that he was starting to stutter in front of Lee - betraying to the bastard that he still had such an effect on him, despite the two of them having not had contact for years. But he would stand his ground this time. The other had no legal grounds to be here, and there were witnesses to his bullshit - as usually Lee pulled this shit on him while they were completely alone... And unlike previously, the potential witnesses this time were very much unlikely to be cowed by Lee and his bullshit, rather than the junior lawyers at Abstergo.

"You would shoot me in cold blood for being on your property? Well at least that shows a proper degree of ruthlessness. Birch will be pleased to find out that you do have a dark side to you... But you do realize that you threatened me in front of an officer of the law, right?" Lee responded, arching an eyebrow at him and radiating smugness. "Sheriff Perkins, I did warn you that this particular young man has a temper and that he hates me for reasons that he made up in his own head - and because he is jealous that I spend more time with his father than he is able to, as the two of us work together."

"Lee, I believe that my son asked you to leave his property. I suggest that you do so. And the next time that you try to threaten him, it's not Connor that you will have to worry about, but myself." Haytham growled, walking out of the hallway and glaring at Lee, moving so that he was standing in front of Connor.

"I... Haytham! I most certainly didn't threaten your son. He has been threatening me, and I am simply trying to help the sheriff get-" Lee started, sounding much warmer and sweeter than before. Everyone else in the room looked stunned by the sudden switch in personality but Connor. "And since when do you call me, Lee? You've... We've been friends for decades, and you've called me Charles for most of that time..." There was a note of hurt in Lee's voice as well.

"Don't try that saccharine tone with me, Lee. After the first time that you threatened Connor, he told me about it. I was able to get one of those who overheard it to confirm it. I called you Charles as at one point I did consider you a friend. But not after you threatened and nearly strangled my son in a fit of temper, because I didn't want to date you." Haytham growled, eyes flashing with anger.

"I... Did... That was a... A lie... I would never hurt your son, Haytham. I know how much you care for him, and how... How happy you were to find out that you had a child..." Lee spluttered, looking the very picture of innocence and hurt that the other would believe something so awful of him.

"... As... Interesting and concerning this is. Mr. Lee, you have been told by the owner of this property to leave, and as an officer of the law, if you do not vacate the premises, I will be forced to escort off of it personally - and if you resist, I will be forced to arrest you." Sheriff Perkins calmly informed him.

Lee looked like he was about to start breathing fire, but as the other glanced between Haytham and Sheriff Perkins, and sighed dramatically, saying "I will do as you say. I'm hurt that you would think so little of me, Haytham. I would like to talk about the... What your son said happened, and try to clarify what really happened, as you know that teenagers can be rather... dramatic and twist things to a... Certain light." With that, the bastard (far too slowly in Connor's opinion) left Connor's home. They heard an engine start and a car drive off.


	9. Chapter 9

It took several weeks for the dust to settle from… Everything that had happened. Connor hadn't been back into town, but Prudence, Warren and the others who are neutral and likely unaware of just what exactly was going on in this little town. The young man remembered that the other had promised to explain things - but Haytham bad been incredibly busy with the arrests - and Connor had dealt with no fewer than two-dozen potential customers for the horses he had been training and caring for. Many of whom were willing to pay quite a bit for more than one of them. He had spoken with each of the potential customers, and had sold all but one of his horses to those whom he felt that would take good care of them. He was still debating on whether or not he wanted to sell Fi to one of the three customers interested in purchasing the gelding. All three of them were wealthy hobby-horse enthusiasts (or so they had claimed) and Connor was going over the information that he'd gotten about each of them, he was leaning towards selling Fi to Johnson, as the other had the best setup for the gentle horse - and had worked best with the animal while he'd observed the other.

The young man had a lot of questions about what was going on in the small town - and Haytham had hinted that he could explain at least a little bit in regards to what was going on... And as things seemed to have settled somewhat. Connor had taken to driving to the larger town an hour's drive, to get groceries when he had to go out to get food as the mood in town was... Incredibly tense, and the young man didn't want to deal with it - hoping that after a few months, they might have calmed down enough not to glare daggers at him - or stare at him as if he was a particularly venomous and bad-tempered snake. Several people who wore the arrowhead pins had approached him on the one and only time that he had gone into town after the arrest of four of their fellow pin-wearers and demanded to know why he hadn't seen fit to tell him who he was - and why he dared to go out without wearing the red-cross pin, as that was the side he had clearly always been. They'd also accused him of trying to win their trust in order to spy on them. Connor had told them that he had no idea what sides they were talking about - and had they really expected that he would have tried to convince his father to let the people who had confessed that they had wanted to kidnap him go...

They were still furious with him, but Connor couldn't bring it within himself to really care. The young man was uncertain if he wanted to move or not. While moving might be seen as a cowardly move he... Wasn't sure if the bitter feelings would settle for a long time, as Connor was well aware of the fact that the people in this small town tended to hold grudges for a very long time, and the whispers of why he had come to New Davenport had followed him from those who wore the red colored cross pins, frightened by his very presence. It wasn't as if Connor wanted anything to do with Birch - and the sadistic fuck had a general idea as to where he was living... 

And the young man was distinctly uncomfortable with that thought, as he worried that Birch might show up on his doorstep and demand he do something just shy of impossible - with his father's safety and relative well-being contingent on whatever bullshit that the bastard wanted to try to make him do. The young man called Johnson back - getting the other's voicemail and said "Mr. Johnson? This is Connor Hill. If you are still interested in purchasing Fi, I have everything ready on my end in order to transfer ownership to you. We'll need to talk about a payment schedule for him, unless you plan on paying for him outright?" he left the other his home phone number - which doubled as his work number and finished it off with a professional ending phrase.

Haytham quietly closed his laptop - a movement that Connor caught out of the corner of his eye and the other called out "Connor, may I speak with you for a moment? I believe I owe you an explanation regarding a few things. And while I wouldn't presume to tell you what to do, but you may rethink whether or not you would even want to live so close to New Davenport, given... What's going on here."

The younger man blinked a little, moving closer to his father and sitting down on the couch, across from where the other was sitting. "Alright. I've finished all the tasks that I need to do for the day, and am ready to listen."

His father nodded, looking down at his hands before saying "You will likely have a lot of questions - but... It is not something that is easily spoken of, particularly as you likely have only faint awareness of it unless... Unless the other side has gotten to you first, and I... I only ask that you listen to the other side of it, before reacting, Connor." Haytham gently took one of Connor's hands, squeezing it gently and staring at nothing for a while. He cleared his throat a little and said "I... Am a member of a secret organization known as the Templar Order. It was founded many centuries ago, and has its roots in the beginnings of the human race."

Connor blinked a little, trying to figure out where the other was going with this, the hand that wasn't holding one of his fathers coming up to touch the amulet that had been passed down through his mother's family for a very long time. "Okay..."

~

Hours later, Connor was still processing the sheer magnitude of the information that his father had given him. Part of the young man wanted to reject at least bits and pieces of what Haytham had to say... After all, the thought of them being created as a slave-race by an older species that had been all but wiped out by the largest of solar flares was... It was ridiculous. But... The young man also knew that Haytham wouldn't lie so entirely to him in order to get out of explaining the truth... And it,... Explained a few things. "So... This small town is an attempt to bridge a centuries long gap in bloodshed and secret-war, as.. As the ever-increasing pervasiveness of technology is putting both orders into danger, despite the fact that both organizations have influence in all spheres of life - including the.... The political and in Law Enforcement. Another reason being that... A... Technological ghost? Or one of these precursors... Managed to escape where she was being held captive and has been trying to cause chaos in order to rule again?"

"You are correct. I... I must say that you're taking this a good deal better than I thought you would. You're certainly taking it a lot better than I did, when I was first told of all of this. I thought it was a joke until... Until I was shown a piece of eden, and a fraction of what it could do to people." His father responded swallowing dryly and looking haunted.

Connor frowned at that, shifting closer to his father and squeezing his hand reassuringly. He was quite certain that Birch had been the one to shock and horrify his father in such ways. "... Does this... Malevolent spirit wear a long white dress, is pale and have a bit longer than shoulder length pitch black hair? Demands that you do strange and ridiculous things because you were supposedly created to serve her?"

"I... How on earth do you know that, Connor?" Haytham spluttered, his eyes widening in shock and no small amount of fear.

".... Because when I was about fourteen years old, she came to me in a dream and demanded that I find someone who understood what the Symbol of the Brotherhood meant, and ask to have them train me in their ways, ,as the previous incarnation of my soul had done. That I was meant to do great and powerful things and to deny her, would be to damn myself to a life of mediocrity and sorrow." Connor   
admitted, fidgeting a little. "I just thought it was a nightmare about starting high school."

"Has she... Did she ever bother you again?" His father asked, looking damned near close to passing out. 

"She is... She is the malevolent entity that escaped into cyberspace and has been causing all sorts of problems for both orders."

"... Occasionally she shows up in my dreams? But I tell her to fuck off, and that I'm going to live my life the way I want to... She also told me that you were Evil and that I should do my utmost to set myself against you at every turn. Which I knew was a giant pile of BS. She was really mad when I told her off, but I had a gleaming star on my chest, and it's light burned her presence away from me... I still kind of hear her voice occasionally in my dreams, but the star keeps her away from me. Somehow." Connor responded with a shrug of his shoulders, speaking seriously, but not afraid... Though he might be.

"... I... I see." Haytham responded, looking about as poleaxed as Connor felt. "Not many can directly refuse a request from her... But I am glad that you didn't try to become an Assassin, or believe her words, Connor. I... I don't know what I would have done, if you'd have become an Assassin." Haytham responded, voice surprisingly small and vulnerable.

Connor hugged his father back tightly, holding him for a while before "I don't care what anyone else -including a cyberghost with delusions of being a goddess says. I love you, Haytham, and I'll always care for you and do what I can to help and protect you when you need it."

"I... Thank you Connor." His father responded, a soft smile appearing on his face. "I will continue to try to protect, care and love you to the best of my abilities."

A sweet smile appeared on Connor's face as he leaned into the other's touch, a contented smile appeared on his face as he glanced over at the other, content and happy. That lasted for a few moments before he came to the startled realization that he genuinely meant it when he told the other that he loved him... But not in the way that a son should love his father. He just hoped that Haytham wouldn't notice that. "Thanks. I... I'm not sure if I'm going to be staying here or not. On one hand, I don't want to be seen as running, now that they know who I am... On the other, everyone still so hostile - at least the people in the know, which is pretty much everything, and it's vanishingly unlikely that they're going to suddenly be alright with the fact that I... Unfortunately... Know Birch on a personal level."

Haytham sighed a little at that, responding "I do have my own ideas about whether or not you should stay here - but it is ultimately your decision. I will however, say that it has been wonderful being able to spend more time with you, and that I... I will miss you terribly, when I leave. I love you as well, Connor."

The younger man flustered slightly, fairly sure that the older man meant it in a platonic fashion... Which Connor had just begun to realize that he... Didn't. He wasn't sure just what to do or say. Part of him wanted to confess that he... he had enjoyed spending time with the other, but that he wanted Haytham to stay forever... It didn't have to be here, just so long as the two of them would be able to spend time together - and more than a handful of minutes once a month, as had been frustratingly common when he'd been living with the other in the past... And it might be safer if he moved away from this small town, anyways. "... Birch is someone important, among the Templar group, isn't he?"

"That he is. I... Cannot tell you more without you joining the Order, and I have gotten the feeling that you very stridently do not want to have anything to do with Birch whatsoever." His father responded, looking away from him. "I technically shouldn't have told you as much as I have, without you first at least signing a legally-binding non-disclosure agreement, even if you were sworn into the Order in the first place. But I feel that you deserve to know the truth - and that Birch is likely to try to recruit you into the order - particularly as you've... You've hinted towards having a certain talent that is incredibly rare and invaluable to have in someone who works for either organization."

Connor fidgeted with his hands a little, having forgotten that he'd darkly warned his former friends that he could track them if they managed to successfully escape Haytham. "Oh. I... I wasn't sure how to ask about it - or... I was kind of terrified I was going some kind of crazy but it... One of my horses got loose during a really bad storm, and I was able to follow her glowing tracks all the way to where she'd gone to hide... A cave deep in the woods. I probably wouldn't have ever found her again otherwise... Or I would have been wandering around with her lost, and needed rescue myself. Do... Do you have the same seeing ability?"

"I do. My father did - Edward. It's apparently an ability that passes down through a person's biological family. I've done a bit of research, and apparently there is some evidence that this... Second sight, or Eagle Vision as the Assassins all it has been a trait that our family has possessed for centuries... and that at least on my side of the family, many of them were at least aware of the secret war, and were either Assassins or Templars. Occasionally working for both sides - though whether they were trying to play the middle, or once loyal to one side and caught and turned by some means on the other, is... Well the evidence for that is circumstantial at best." Haytham responded, a small smile lifting his father's lips as he spoke.

"When... You don't have to answer this question... But when you came home injured when I was a teenager... Did you... Were you injured because of a mission that you went on as a Templar? Connor suspected he knew the answer to this, but was asking just to confirm it. "And... And when you were hurt and... Came here, was it for... Similar reasons?"

Haytham stared at his hands for a long time. Long enough that Connor was about to apologize for asking something that the other couldn't - or wouldn't - speak of, when the older man responded quietly "I... I had been on missions for the Order, and come back injured those times. As for this time, I hadn't been on a mission. Several assassins attacked me, just outside of an airport - they had managed to shoot me with a rifle - and one of them had managed to inject me with something that... Messed with my mind. They were barely able to drag my mostly-unconscious body into the van - the trunk they unceremoniously stuffed me into..."

The other looked lost and... Haunted. Connor slowly moved closer to his father, telegraphing his movements obviously as he slowly took the one of Haytham's hands, squeezing it gently, in order to show the other a bit of support - as well as to encourage the other to speak, rather than trying to say something out loud and possibly cause his father to reconsider whether it was wise to talk to him about what had happened.

Haytham smiled gratefully and squeezed back, taking in a deep, shaky breath, before continuing "By the time I was awake enough to try to get out of the van, they had dragged me out of it. They had several baseball bats and... Tried to... Discourage me from trying to escape them while using it. I think the metal bat was the one that struck the blow that injured my ribs. I played meek and helpless until they stopped hitting me, knocked my attackers unconscious and stole the next vehicle I saw. I didn't take the van, as it was likely that they had some sort of tracker on it, just in case I did overcome the team sent to grab me. I realized that I was within fifty miles of where you were... I probably should have called the hospital, or at least an urgent care clinic... But I... I needed to see you. Needed to reassure myself that you were fine, especially so near a place that is such a deeply divided and rather dangerous place to be, given that... Tensions between the two organizations are almost as bad as they've ever been - though there is less killing of one another... At least in this country."

A startled and worried expression flashed across Connor's face - though the younger man did his best to school his reactions to what his father was saying, squeezing the other's hands again gently. "I... Thank you for telling me. I may need to move away - as the Templars here are terrified of me... And the Assassins resent me for playing a part in the rest of four of their younger members. But did they really think that I would have looked the other way, if anyone had been attacked? Especially y-... Especially someone whom I cared for deeply?"

"Perhaps they hoped that you would see the righteousness of their cause - or at least know that I am a terrible and despicable person in many ways - and that them trying to attack and kidnap me from your own home was something that would be for the benefit of many." His father offered, sound a little exasperated and a touch mocking. "Then again, I've never really been able to understand what goes through their heads'."

Connor fidgeted a little. One of the things that Haytham had explained to him was the two different core values that the two organizations professed to believe in. The younger man had taken his father's comments about what the brotherhood believed in with more than a few grains of salt... But at the core, the Brotherhood seemed to profess that they believed in the right of the individual... Every individual, to make the decisions that they wished... Whereas the Templars wanted to ensure that people were given structure and guidance in their lives. Part of him could almost hear some of his former friends yelling that it wasn't guidance that the Templars were after, but tyranny - and while the rather... 

Authoritarian views that the Templars had... The possible anarchy that could be created if each individual was granted absolute freedom. Perhaps in New Davenport, both sides were attempting to find a way to bridge the gap between their ideologies and find a middle ground that was palatable for everyone involved - even if it wasn't the victory that they had hoped to have. "Ah. I can understand why both ideologies would appeal to people." Connor would rather have more orderly, than the absolute freedom of every individual - as there would be more than a few who would do whatever they wanted - at the severe detriment of others.. Then there were people like Lee, who likely hid behind the Order's protections as a way to get out of trouble when he did shitty things to people - or he mostly targeted people who were suspected of at least having ties to the Assassins... Or who might pose a threat to his standing with Haytham - or with the organization that he's very likely to be a member of.

"I wouldn't ask you to join the Order, Connor. It's a... It's a difficult life, and not one that I would choose for you. It is a great deal of adversity, and though I had tried to get a bit more time off - when I worked less for Abstergo, trying to find time to connect with you, my missions for the Order increased - and there was only so much I could do to get out of those as well." Haytham responded with a quiet sigh. "There is one thing I would like to say: I... It took me aback at first, the depth of your affections were, Connor... But I have found that I love you quite a bit as well... And in ways that the vast majority of people would say is wrong."

"I... Y-You..." Connor spluttered, feeling his cheeks darken in a deep blush. Haytham always had been able to read him so easily "I... I love you too. Romantically, I mean."

Haytham smiled warmly at that, and gently tugged Connor closer, pressing a soft kiss to the other's lips.


	10. Chapter 10

A little over a month after the two of them had confessed that they loved one another in a romantic way found the two of them in a small hotel in a tiny town nestled at the base of a mountain. Connor had waited a couple of weeks, hoping that things would settle down for the better… But the only people who would even talk to him were those who weren’t aware of the wary armistice between two organizations that had been fighting one another for control of multiple countries (and empires) for at least a thousand years. Everyone else treated him with either a terrified sort of  _ reverence _ and silent staring… Or hostile, betrayed glaring, as if he had personally done something to break their trust and ability to even stand his presence.

 

Both groups watched him silently, and wouldn’t interact with him at all - even when he tried to, say, buy groceries from the local grocery store, because the local mom and pop store was run by a Brotherhood-allied family. Connor had caught the hint, and had quietly put his property up for sale - he had sold all of the horses he’d been working with several weeks before, and had just begun the process of trying to find foals old enough to be separated from their mothers’ to begin training them again.

 

Connor had contacted those who had truly been his friends - rather than those who had simply been waiting and hoping that he would unknowingly choose their side, and from then start to draw him into their organization further - and told them that he was leaving the area for good. He told them that he wanted to try to get to know his father better, and that he would try to visit them, if they wanted him too, after he found a place in New York City to stay in. They had a small party, and Connor had been able to sell the land a few days ago - which was how he had ended up in this hotel with Haytham as well. Much as the young man didn’t want to remember such terrible times, one of the whispered conversations that he had accidentally overheard after certain things had been revealed came to the forefront of his mind again.

 

_ Connor had been quietly waiting for Prudence to finish checking out the last of the things that he and Haytham needed for groceries for the week (having already given her the cash to purchase what they wanted, and an explanation that the Smythes were mad at him, and wouldn’t sell him so much as a moldy pear) when he overheard two of their children talking. _

 

_ Jasmine scowled darkly “and Hill - or rather, fucking Kenway! Turned out to be a goddamn templar all along! No doubt trained personally by Birch or his father personally since he could walk.” _

_ “Yeah…” Jason scowled, stuffing his hands in his pockets “I can’t believe I ever had a crush on him. He always seemed so nice and kind-hearted. Stubborn but clever and genuinely interested in the wellbeing of everyone else. Not because he had something to gain for it, but…” _

 

_ “But because Connor seemed to genuinely be happy when he heard that someone was doing well… And that he was supposedly actually concerned when someone was having problems. We both should have known that it was some sort of fucking front. Who’s our age that’s genuinely that nice? Still, I’m glad that we weren’t the only ones fooled by his naive front.” _

 

_ “What do you mean, Jazzy?” Markus responded, before muttering “I wonder if he knew that the Templars had probably kidnapped the Boone and Mason families - and went to rescue them in order to endear himself to our lot.” _

 

_ Jasmine shook her head “No. I was with him the entire time we were looking for those kids. I saw his eyes turn gold. He’s got eagle vision. That’s one of the reasons why Mentor Davenport took such an interest in him in the first place. The head of the lab techs in the state hospital sent him a report, when Davenport asked for information about him. They didn’t know who his fucking father was… But he had plenty of Isu blood running in his veins. Enough so that at least one of his kids -if he ever had any - would also have it too.” _

 

“-Nor… Connor, are you here with me?” His father asked, frowning a little as he lightly touched one of Connor’s shoulders.

 

“I.. I am now. I didn’t mean to ignore you, if you said anything. I was just…” The younger man responded, looking at Haytham briefly before looking away again.

 

“Were you thinking about New Davenport again?” Haytham asked, voice soft and impossibly understanding.

 

“I… Yeah… It’s just… I wasn’t expecting so many of them to only see me as a potential tool to be used or weapon to be used against them… And that despite the fact that they did get to know me for years… The fact that I had occasional contact with Birch apparently means that I’m some sort of evil, devious superspy to be feared and avoided at all costs.” Connor responded with an unhappy sigh. He wasn’t sure if he had taken the coward’s way out but… The younger man had no desire to get dragged into their complicated bullshit… Especially as he was looking forwards to exploring the new relationship that he and his father were both very much interested in pursuing.

 

Haytham hummed softly, pulling his beloved into a warm and loving embrace, pressing a soft kiss to the other’s lips before responding “I’m sorry that they reacted so poorly to finding out who you were connected to… But New Davenport has attracted those from both sides who are… Unconventional to say the least, as many would rather continue the fighting for the next thousand years - believing that sticking to the bloody traditions of the past is the best way forwards. And Birch is… Incredibly influential among the American Templars and is… Can be a rather harsh taskmaster. But, That’s not why we’re here today, and I… Would rather not have a conversation like this in a public space like this.”

 

Connor nodded in understanding, cuddling into his father and pressing a loving kiss to the other’s lips “I don’t want to have this conversation now, either. What was it that you were trying to say when I was wandering down unpleasant memory lane, and rudely ignoring you?”

 

A patient, loving smile appeared on the older Kenway’s face, and the other responded “I wanted to ask what you wanted to do for breakfast? They do have an excellent place attached to this hotel - but one of my favorite places to eat is a quick walk down to the waterfront.”

 

A small smile appeared on the younger man’s face and he responded after a couple of moments “I wouldn’t mind going for a quick walk this morning. It’s a really gorgeous, sunny day… Thanks for bringing me here, Haytham.”

 

“You’re welcome, love. I like the fact that there is both forest and a beach to wander around for hours at within a short distance of this small town… And it’s good to be able to get away from the… Issues that I face from time to time at work.” His father responded, leaning in close and pressing another light kiss to Connor’s lips.

 

The younger man happily kissed his beloved back, leaning into the other’s touch. He was just a little surprised at how  _ playful _ his beloved could be, but Connor was very much enjoying it “I think I’ll like it here for that reason.”

 

Haytham smiled again at that - sending butterflies fluttering through Connor’s stomach - and carefully got up, offering a hand for the other to take “Do you want to go now? Or would you rather wait for a bit, perhaps watch a bit of tv…?”

 

Connor considered it for a couple of moments - it was still fairly early, which was why he asked “It’s not even eight… Is the place that you mentioned before open now? Besides… Since it’s early…” the younger man took the offered hand and pressed a light kiss to the other’s knuckles, happy.

 

“Ah… You are correct. The place I am thinking of isn’t open yet and won’t be until nine, as it’s a weekend day.. . Did you have something specific in mind, my beloved?” His father responded, looking as if he was about to say something else, before stopping himself. There was a flirtatious smirk on Haytham’s face as the other drew closer to the bed that they’d been sharing.

 

“That depends on whether or not you’re in the mood for anything in particular as well, rake:ni.” Connor responded, a cheeky sort of grin appearing on his face, dark brown eyes sparkling with mischief. He had figured out that after they’d started dating, that calling the other that had an… Interesting reaction from his beloved.

 

As he’d predicted, Haytham’s eyes darkened a little - with want and… Perhaps a bit of amusement as well?  “Well, Connor… I have a few ideas as to how we could pass the time this morning before we head off to breakfast - this small town has a charm of its own… Or-” The other moved closer to him, bright blue-grey eyes full of love and burgeoning want.

 

“Or we could stay in our room for a little while longer.” Connor responded with an inviting grin, taking the hand that he was still holding lightly and gently turning it over, pressing a light kiss to one of the other’s wrists before slowly starting to kiss his way up the other’s arm, dark eyes full of want and hope “If you’re of a mind… I-”

 

“I would be very much interested in something like that, Connor.” Haytham responded, lightly pressing another kiss to the younger man’s lips before he spoke, in order to still the other’s occasionally wandering tongue without flustering the younger man too much. This relationship was very new to the both of them - and Connor had a tendency to ramble nervously when worried that he had overstepped a boundary… Which the older man found to be entertainingly endearing.

 

A bright grin appeared on the younger man’s face and he eagerly pulled his father into his lap, pressing light kisses to the other’s lips, enjoying the fact that he could and that Haytham seemed to be enjoying himself just as much “I love you, Haytham.” Connor murmured softly, dark brown eyes warm and full of love.

 

The older man beamed as he moved closer to the other, as he pressed a kiss to the other’s lips. After a moment, Haytham responded with a warm “I love you too, Connor. Did you have something in particular in mind, while we wait for the place to open up? I do remember that we did pack a couple of card games with us.” There was a teasing smirk on the other’s face.

 

The younger man most certainly didn’t pout up at the other for his teasing - though he did understand that the other was trying not to push too much for something that he wanted (as he had rather startled his father by confessing that he hadn’t slept with anyone, before they’d had sex for the first time. It had caused that encounter to come to a crashing halt, while the two of them had a long conversation about preferences and other… things. It had been awkward at first, but it was surprising at how easy the conversation became). But Connor was certainly up for a bit of morning fun and murmured “Well… We have this nice bed… And I do remember that we didn’t use up much of the lube last night… If you want to.”

 

Haytham’s eyes darkened with want and the older man nodded, gently pushing Connor back onto the sheets, pressing a deep, languid kiss to the younger man’s lips, catching the other’s lower lip with his tongue and nibbling on it a little before drawing it into his mouth for a couple of moments. When they broke apart for air, one of Haytham’s hands slid into his beloved’s hair, lightly tugging on it as he growled “I would very much like to, Connor. Do you have any particular desires?” He pressed a light kiss to a spot on the younger man’s neck that he knew that the other liked, nipping the spot.

 

Connor moaned and shivered beneath him, and panted up at the other “I… Ahn… I w-want you to t-take me li-like this, please!” His hands slid beneath the shirt that his father was wearing, sliding up the other’s well-muscled stomach and lightly brushing against the other’s nipples, grinning a little as Haytham gasped softly in pleasure.

 

The older man grinned a little at his beloved’s response, pressing a light kiss to the other’s lips before shifting a little and reaching for the bottle of lube, enjoying being able to tease and pleasure the younger man beneath him. Connor had the most intoxicatingly flattering reactions to his ministrations, and Haytham enjoyed being able to explore his beloved's body. "Hmm... Very well then. Some of the marks that you so enjoyed me leaving last night have faded... Would you like me to give you new ones? "

 

"Yes, please!" The younger man responded eagerly, grinning up at Haytham "and I... I'd like to give you s-some more again too."

 

The grin on Haytham's face widened a little, and he pressed a brief, but loving kiss to his beloved's lips, answering with a warm "As you wish, beloved." His hands slipped beneath his lover's shirt, enjoying being able to explore Connor's body as he pleased.Connor shivered wonderfully beneath him, and Haytham couldn't resist the temptation to tickle the younger man, smirking wickedly at his beloved as he did so.

 

"H-Haytham! P-please! hahaha haha! H-Haytham!" The younger man wailed as he tried to squirm away from his father's grasp, throwing back his head and laughing helplessly. "St-ahahaha-stop please! hahehehehe!"

 

"Why should I, when it's so much fun to tease and tickle you? I hadn't realized that you were so ticklish, beloved." The older Kenway responded, bright blue eyes warm and bright as he leaned forwards and pressed a series of biting kisses to his beloved's throat, enjoying the way that Connor shivered and gasped softly beneath him.

 

"I... A-Ah! I'm n-not ahahahaha! U-usually ticklish hahahaha! H-Haytham!" Connor responded, trying to glare up at his father a little, but unable to keep such a dour expression on his face as the other continued the teasing ministrations. The younger man whimpered a little as the other marked his neck, loving the feeling - and it was at odds with the other's still devilishly dancing fingers, squirming beneath the other and gasping for breath.

 

Haytham smirked at his son, pressing a sweet kiss to the other's lips as he pressed close to the other, continuing to mercilessly tickle the gorgeous man beneath him, saying after a moment "You have such an enchanting laugh, and I can't help but enjoy the sound, whenever you make it... And I will also admit to being unable to resist the temptation to tickle you this morning."

 

Connor pouted a little up at Haytham for a moment - but he couldn't hold the more serious expression as the other continued to tickle him. That didn't mean that he couldn't get a little bit of revenge in turn. Dark eyes sparkled with mischief - the only warning that Haytham got before the younger man flipped the two of them over, and he caught his father's wrists with one hand, the other starting to tickle his beloved's sides, enjoying watching the other squirm and chuckle breathlessly beneath him "And I really like it when you laugh as well, Haytham."

 

The older man tugged his hands free of the other's grip - not that Connor was holding onto his wrists particularly tightly (for which the Templar was grateful - having had several unpleasant experiences tied to his hands being tied up and unable to be pulled free easily) - and tickled his lover back, grinning up at the other. Haytham chuckled softly, a happy expression appearing on his face. "I'm glad that we're able to be playful with one another like this... And that was an impressive flip, Connor."

 

The younger man ducked his head a little, feeling himself blush darkly at the other's praise - something that the both of them had figured out that Connor really enjoyed getting from Haytham "Th-thanks... I've been learning some self-defense. I figure since we're dating I should be able to learn how... Just in case some idiots try to kidnap you or something like... Like back at the farm. I've got a lot of raw strength according to the instructor, but I.. It also helps me learn how to control it better around people... And I'm glad that we're able to play too."

 

Haytham nodded a little at that, still chuckling and squirming a little at the other's light touches, enjoying being close with his beloved "I... By the time that I realized that I was much stronger than most, I..." The other sighed, looking away, shaking his head a little.

 

Connor frowned a little, stopping tickling Haytham and settling down in bed next to the other, pressing a gentle kiss to one of the other's cheeks, a hand coming up and lightly brushing through the other's hair "... If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. There's a lot that you can't really talk about. But I will keep your secrets safe, and I won't tell anyone you don't want me to. No matter who is asking."

 

His father looked at him, a very gentle expression on the other's face as he kissed him tenderly on the lips. Once they parted for air, Haytham responded with "Thank you, Connor. I know that you'd go against anyone - including someone you find to be... More than a little devilish on my behalf."

 

The younger man sulked a little, knowing that the other was referring to the argument that he'd had a little over a month ago with Birch... Had it really only been so recent? That was the day that things had all changed... Overall, in Connor's opinion for the better. His life had been turned upside down again... But on the other hand, he'd found out that Haytham loved him in the same way that he loved the other back. "Yeah, yeah. I know that you're still kind of mad at me for talking to a certain someone in the way I did but... Someone had to stand up to him. He did in fact, back off... I just... I hope that by the time we get back to New York City, he won't try to take it out on you... If he does I'll grovel at his feet if I have to."

 

Haytham sighed softly, shaking his head a little "Birch can be harsh, and enjoys being terrifying, but part of the reason why he was acting like that was the number of Assassins watching. He truly isn't as awful as he portrays himself to be in certain areas, in order to maintain a certain kind of image, to strike fear and awe into others... Don't give me that look - I will admit that he can be too harsh and had been... Demanding beyond reasonable expectations at times. Still, the fact that you would apologize if Birch is... Genuinely upset and offended by what you had said is... Sweet of you."

 

Connor had figured out a while ago that Birch was really good at shredding his father's sense of self-worth, and had been stubbornly doing his best to try to fix some of that by encouraging Haytham to say whatever he wanted, listening to his worries and fears and genuinely consoling and caring for his beloved, eager and happy to give his beloved all of the love and affection that his father wanted and needed. He was also blushing a little at being called sweet by his father, flustering a little.  Unsure whether to say something or not, the younger man just snuggled into his father's side, a small smile appearing on his face as he pressed closer to the other, pressing a kiss to one of his father's cheeks, deliberately catching a corner of the other's lips.

 

His beloved chuckled a little at his response, and shifted a little so that they were facing one another on the hotel bed that they'd been sharing, pressing a slow, loving kiss to Connor's lips, his arms wrapping around the other's waist and pulling him in close, humming contentedly. The two of them stayed entwined in one another - kissing and holding one another, slowly drifting off to sleep - though both tended to be early-risers, they had nowhere in particular to go that day, and were delighted to spend time together, pressed close to the one whom they loved most.

 


End file.
